Simoncelli continued to ride for WorldwideRace in 2005, this time under the Race banner. He ended in 11th place in the final standings with 79 points. He managed to score points in seven other races with a best result of sixth. However, the victory was his only podium finish for the season. In the race, which was held in wet conditions, Simoncelli was in second place when race leader Casey Stoner crashed out with three laps remaining, handing Simoncelli his first victory. In the second race of the season at Jerez, Simoncelli recorded his first pole position. In the 2004 season, Simoncelli switched to WorldwideRace team under the name of Rauch Bravo, which also run an Aprilia bike. Overall, he scored 31 points and ranked 21st in the final championship standings. He managed to score points in six races with a best result of fourth at Valencia, the last race of the season. That season, he also started to use the iconic number 58 on his bike.
He continued with the Matteoni Racing Team for his first full season in 2003. However, he failed to score any points in the next four races and finished the season with three points from six races. In the following race at Estoril, he scored his first championship points by finishing in 13th place. Simoncelli, riding an Aprilia bike with the number 37, managed to finish in 27th place in his first race at Brno. 125cc World Championship Īfter a successful European 125cc campaign, in August 2002, Simoncelli made his first Grand Prix appearance with Matteoni Racing, replacing Czech rider Jaroslav Huleš who stepped up to the 250cc class.
In 2002, he competed and won the European 125cc Championship. The following year, he stepped up to the Italian 125cc Championship and he won the title in his rookie year. He won the Italian Minimoto Championship in 19 while also became the runner-up in the 2000 European Minimoto Championship. He started racing minibikes at the age of seven in his hometown of Coriano, moving on to the Italian Minimoto Championship in 1996 at the early age of nine.
Marco Simoncelli was born in Cattolica but grew up and lived in Coriano with his family since childhood. Simoncelli died in an accident during the 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang on 23 October 2011 after being run over following his own fall on track. After four years in the intermediate class, he stepped up to the top MotoGP class in 2010, racing with the Honda Gresini Team. He won the 2008 250cc World Championship with Gilera. He started in the 125cc class before moving up to the 250cc class in 2006. He competed in the MotoGP World Championship for 10 years from 2002 to 2011.
Marco Simoncelli ( Italian pronunciation: 20 January 1987 – 23 October 2011), known as Sic, was an Italian professional motorcycle racer.