Marco Simoncelli

Marco Simoncelli, nicknamed 'Super Sic', was an Italian motorcycle racer and 2008 250cc World Champion whose promising MotoGP career was cut short by his death at the 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix.

Marco Simoncelli's 250cc World Championship in 2008 — won with six race victories after crashing out of the opening two rounds — announced a talent that MotoGP's paddock considered a future premier-class champion before his fatal accident at Sepang in 2011. He progressed rapidly through Italian minimoto and 125cc championships, joining the Grand Prix World Championship in 2002 with Aprilia in the 125cc class. Simoncelli moved to the 250cc category with Gilera in 2006, and after two unremarkable seasons, produced a stunning turnaround in 2008: despite crashing out of the first two races, he won six Grands Prix to claim the 250cc World Championship, clinching the title fittingly at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia. Renowned for his aggressive riding style and distinctive curly hair, 'Super Sic' became one of the paddock's most popular and charismatic figures. Simoncelli stepped up to MotoGP with the Gresini Honda team in 2010, and by 2011 had established himself as a genuine title contender, taking his first pole position at the Catalan Grand Prix and his first premier-class podiums at the Czech and Australian Grands Prix. On October 23, 2011, at the same Sepang circuit where he had won his world title, Simoncelli crashed on the second lap of the Malaysian Grand Prix; his bike veered back across the track and he was struck by fellow riders Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi, sustaining fatal injuries. He was 24. MotoGP retired his number 58 in his honour, and he remains one of the sport's most beloved lost talents.

Aggressive, hard-charging rider known for late braking and fearless overtaking

Remembered as one of MotoGP's most charismatic and talented riders, whose death profoundly affected the sport and led to lasting safety reforms

• 250cc World Champion (2008)
• 6th in 2011 MotoGP World Championship
• Bike number 58 retired by MotoGP in his honour