Gresini to race in Valencia in honour of Marco Simoncelli

Marco Simoncelli’s Gresini Honda squad will race in this weekend’s Valencia MotoGP round to honour the Italian star after he was tragically killed in the Sepang race earlier this month.

Team boss Fausto Gresini had agonised over whether to race in MotoGP and Moto2 this weekend after Simoncelli succumbed to serious head, neck and chest injuries on the second lap of the Malaysian Grand Prix.

The popular 24-year-old was struck by Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi after he’d lost control at Turn 11 while running in fourth position.

In the immediate aftermath of Simoncelli’s accident, Gresini doubted whether he would race in Valencia with Hiroshi Aoyama and his Moto2 squad that runs Yuki Takahashi and Michele Pirro.

The distraught Italian said: “In this terrible moment I can’t believe anything. After something like this you can’t see any reason to do this.”

But the Gresini squad issued a statement this morning confirming it will participate this weekend at the Ricardo Tormo circuit.

Gresini said: “The decision to participate was not an easy one, but we have made this choice as it is what Marco would have wanted. Going out on track at Valencia is definitely the best way to honour him by doing what he most loved to do: ride and experience the world of MotoGP. This is why I believe that the best show of affection that we can make to Marco is by lining up our teams and riders for this race. ‘Super Sic’ will be present in the hearts of Hiroshi Aoyama, Michele Pirro and Yuki Takahashi, and I am sure that they will give him a most fitting tribute with their performances on Sunday.”