Coriano dedicates town gateway tribute to Marco Simoncelli
Late Simoncelli to be honoured with new tribute from his home town
Coriano, near Misano, will open a new tribute to late MotoGP racer Marco Simoncelli at the gateway to the town this week.
Simoncelli tragically lost his life in a crash during the 2011 MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix.
The Italian was 250cc world champion in 2008 before stepping up to MotoGP in 2010 with the Gresini squad aboard a Honda RC212V.
He remained with the Gresini squad for 2011 and scored his first MotoGP podium in that year’s Czech GP, before adding a second to his tally at the Australian GP just a week before he died.
Since his death in 2011, numerous tributes have been created in Simoncelli’s honour.
At the Sepang International Circuit where he lost his life, a plaque was dedicated at the corner where the fatal accident happen.
The Misano circuit was renamed in his honour, while a museum was opened in his hometown of Coriano charting his racing career.
Simoncelli’s father Paolo carries on his son’s legacy through the SIC58 Squadra Corse, which currently competes in the Moto3 World Championship.
Ahead of this weekend’s Emilia Romagna GP at Misano, a new Simoncelli display designed by Aldo Drudi will be unveiled on a roundabout at the entrance to Coriano.
It will be officiated on Thursday.
“We managed to arrive in the time set by the double MotoGP appointment ready to dedicate the most important road access gate of Coriano to Marco Simoncelli,” Gianluca Ugolini, mayor of Coriano, told Rimini Today.
“A desired and not casual anniversary thanks to the harmony created right from the start with Aldo Drudi, for the design of the work, and over the years with the Simoncelli family for the sharing of many projects.
“In addition to his skills as a prodigious rider, in just a few years, Marco, always generous in every situation, was the boy we all would have wanted and for whom we have chosen to pay homage once again with this work dedicated to him.”
