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Marco Simoncelli killed at Malaysian Grand Prix

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PatrickDeneny's picture
PatrickDeneny
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Italian Moto GP racer, Marco Simoncelli, has died of injuries sustained in a crash at Sepang. Simoncelli lost control of his bike and slid across the track into the path of Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards. Both riders hit him and his helmet came off. He slid along the track face-down and was in cardiac arrest when race stewards reached him. The race was red-flagged and later completely cancelled.

Simoncelli was one of my favourite Moto GP riders. He was definitely an up-and-coming talent and his aggressive riding style was so entertaining to watch. He'll be sorely missed both in the sport and generally.

R.I.P. Sad

"Death, the most dreaded of evils, is of no concern to us; for while we exist death is not present, and when death is present we no longer exist." Epicurus

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EzioAltair17
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thats sad ..... don't know who he is but still sad Crying

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LisaMurphy
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Sorry, Patrick. My sympathies. Sad

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Fly Like an Eagle
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There was another driver recently killed here in the US. Sometimes it really amazes me how dangerous NASCAR, Moto GP, F1, or any racing league in general can be, especially because drivers that crash either end up completely unscathed or dead, there's rarely any in-between.

Hopefully, Moto GP will pass some new safety restrictions such as what NASCAR did after Dale Earnhart was killed years ago, though I'm not sure what can be done to improve safety in Moto GP...

Fate fell short this time, smile fades in the summer
Place your hand in mine, I'll leave when I wanna!

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PatrickDeneny
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Yeah, Dan Wheldon's death just last week was equally tragic. These drivers/riders are in such danger in these sports but that's what makes them so exciting, both for them and the fans.

Moto GP is an inherently dangerous sport. The insane speeds and exposure of the riders (compared to being in a car) means the occasional accident is inevitable. Simoncelli was just unlucky. He made a tiny error and tried to recorrect it, causing him to skid back across the track, rather than out of the corner and onto the grass. Added to that, Rossi and Edwards were right behind him and there was nothing they could do to avoid hitting him. The bikes, leathers and helmets are all fantastically engineered but nothing can be done in a situation like this.

There will certainly be an investigation and safety measures will be reconsidered. Many people will ask how his helmet came off so easily but at the speed his head was hit I suspect the strap just snapped and it was forced off by the collision.

For now, I would rather people just remembered him as a great rider who had his career cut tragically short:

"Death, the most dreaded of evils, is of no concern to us; for while we exist death is not present, and when death is present we no longer exist." Epicurus

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stabguy
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The racer in the above video, Steve Heidner, is a member of my extended family. His daughter happens to be in town this week visiting stabgal and me. She says that after her friends watch this video they say, "You mean your dad is still alive?" He was only in the hospital for three weeks with a broken back, broken ribs, and skin grafts down one side of his body. He still races today.

Don't make me have to show you my blade.

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Fly Like an Eagle
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I can believe he survived that, but getting blown off a bike at 208 mph certainly doesn't sound inviting.

Fate fell short this time, smile fades in the summer
Place your hand in mine, I'll leave when I wanna!

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PatrickDeneny
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madziulec wrote:
I always look here http://yourdeathdate.info/1/index.html
Death when it comes will have no denial.

Bot. Please delete.

"Death, the most dreaded of evils, is of no concern to us; for while we exist death is not present, and when death is present we no longer exist." Epicurus

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stabguy
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PatrickDeneny wrote:
Bot. Please delete.

Done. Bot blocked and comments deleted.

Don't make me have to show you my blade.

PatrickDeneny's picture
PatrickDeneny
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Thanks, much appreciated. Bots seem to be frequenting these forums more often nowadays... Puzzled

"Death, the most dreaded of evils, is of no concern to us; for while we exist death is not present, and when death is present we no longer exist." Epicurus

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LisaMurphy
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Patrick and stab: I'm sorry I didn't catch that. I've had RL issues pile up on me the past couple of weeks and haven't been able to be as attentive as usual.

Anyone, feel free to message me if you see something like this again; I'll get an email and make time to check it out.

PatrickDeneny's picture
PatrickDeneny
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LisaMurphy wrote:
Patrick and stab: I'm sorry I didn't catch that. I've had RL issues pile up on me the past couple of weeks and haven't been able to be as attentive as usual.

Anyone, feel free to message me if you see something like this again; I'll get an email and make time to check it out.

No worries, it only appeared pretty recently and I'm glad to see you got the other one! Wink

"Death, the most dreaded of evils, is of no concern to us; for while we exist death is not present, and when death is present we no longer exist." Epicurus