Marco Simoncelli: The Tribute Book

Rossellla & Paolo Simoncelli

A fitting tribute to the late Marco Simoncelli this, with plenty of input from the likes of Valentino Rossi, Andrea Dovizioso, Simoncelli’s team managers, mechanics, girlfriend and parents, who are the authors of the book.

Simoncelli was killed during the 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix during his second year of MotoGP. He won the 250cc title in 2008, finished third in 2009 and — despite only racing in the top class on 35 occasions — won the hearts of fans around the world. His riding style was attacking and flamboyant, his long limbs making it seem that he was riding a minibike rather than a 200mph-plus MotoGP machine. It’s no surprise that his childhood hero was Formula l’s Gilles Villeneuve. “I grew up with the legend that was Villeneuve,” reads one quote. “In fact, I went against the tide because at that time everyone else in Italy supported Schumacher’ This is a very personal tribute and within its pages are stories you’d never hear from a biographer or anyone from outside the family. Too many people never got to know ‘Super Sic’, but this book goes some way to rectifying that omission. EF

Published by Haynes Publishing, ISBN 978 85733 402 2, 119.99