Madrid: The final race of the Moto GP season scheduled at the Spanish circuit of Cheste, near Valencia, will take place Sunday in the memory of Italian rider Marco Simoncelli.
Simoncelli lost his life in a crash in the previous round held in Malaysia Oct 23.
Rather than ask for a minute’s silence in the memory of his son, Simoncelli’s father has asked the riders in Sunday’s race to commemorate him with a minute of revving up their engines. And it is certain to be a spine-tingling moment as the riders and fans remember the 24-year-old, Xinhua reported.
Simoncelli’s memory has hung over Cheste during the preparations for the race with fans carrying banners bearing his name and racing number 58 to the practice sessions and with mechanics wearing armbands with number 58 written on them.
Meanwhile, a 16-metre long wall has also been erected at the circuit for fans to leave their own messages for the rider.
In racing terms, the Championships has already been decided with Australian, Casey Stoner already crowned World Champions ahead of Spain’s Jorge Lorenzo. Lorenzo will miss the final race of the season as he continues to recover from a finger injury he suffered in Australia three weeks ago. Lorenzo needed plastic surgery after suffering damage to his ring finger, but he is guaranteed to end the season in second place ahead of Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso.
Dovizioso could well be the man to catch at Cheste as Simoncelli’s former team-mate looks to pay homage to his companion in the best possible way. That would be the perfect end to what will be an emotional day. (IANS)