Marco Simoncelli #58 RIP

Unfortunately another racing accident has claimed another rising star in MotoGP. San Carlo Honda Gresini's Marco Simoncelli succumbed to injuries sustained in a second-lap accident of the Malaysian Grand Prix. Our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and team.  

Our prayers go out to the Simoncelli family during this very difficult and tragic time. I think something needs to be done about the design of the chin restraints on motorcyle helmets. The single strap design doesn't adequately secure the helmet to the head. Maybe, if the design was changed to replicate the Soldier's Ballistic Helmet (a 4 point design securing straps behind the ears, at the temple region, and around the chin this would reduce the chance of the helmet coming off the head in an accident (much like the Parachutist Retention/chin strap combo used by the Airborne). Just a thought to help others in the future. RIP Marco #58  

I was watching the race as the accident occurred. The whole thing seemed to be surreal as it was happening. I'm glad that the race was cancelled. There will certainly be a lot of analysis about what actually happened.

I watched the accident several times because I had recorded the race. It appears that Simoncelli was already pinned under the bike as he was dragged across the track into the other riders - he had no chance.

Hopefully the accident will not affect Rossi and Edwards too adversely and they will
be able to continue racing without having the memory of the accident hanging over their heads.  
Ride Proud, Ride Safe, Have Fun.

The live MotoGP video feed showed a lot of stuff that apparently wasn't shown on the Speed telecast.

Basically, Simoncelli started to tuck the front right before the apex of turn 11, a fast right-hander that puts a lot emphasis on the front tire; the front onboard camera from Bautista's bike (who was right behind him) showed Simoncelli's front tire leaving a long black streak before he goes out of view. Because he was so tall and lanky, Simoncelli was actually able to keep the bike from crashing because he was holding it up with his leg and shoulder. Unfortunately, because he was hanging so far off the bike in an attempt to save the crash, his awkward position prevented him from getting the bike upright when the tires fully regained grip. Because the bike was still leaning far to the right when the tires regained traction, it forced him to veer back across the track, right into the path of Edwards and Rossi (the same effect that happens when a spinning car suddenly regains traction- it tries to go in the general direction of the wheel tracks, i.e., why racecars can slam so hard into the wall on oval tracks).

When Simoncelli comes veering back across the track, it appears as if he's "pinned under the bike", but if you had seen the onboard footage from Bautista's bike, he was basically in the same position when he went off screen from the onboard footage as when he came into view from the TV camera in the corner. Simoncelli was trying to stay upright and save the crash to the end because he was a champion motorcycle racer at the highest level, and in situations where most racers would be saying, "forget it, I'm crashing", he was looking at an opportunity to stay upright and continue in the race.

All that said, though, analyzing the crash doesn't accomplish much. A rising star is no longer with us, and that's all that's important at this point.  

b.mcghee01:
Our prayers go out to the Simoncelli family during this very difficult and tragic time. I think something needs to be done about the design of the chin restraints on motorcyle helmets. The single strap design doesn't adequately secure the helmet to the head. Maybe, if the design was changed to replicate the Soldier's Ballistic Helmet (a 4 point design securing straps behind the ears, at the temple region, and around the chin this would reduce the chance of the helmet coming off the head in an accident (much like the Parachutist Retention/chin strap combo used by the Airborne). Just a thought to help others in the future. RIP Marco #58

Actually, the chin strap on a properly designed and fitted motorcycle helmet does adequately keep the helmet in position on a rider's head in the vast majority of crashes. If this were a problem, then you'd see a lot more helmets coming off riders in crashes where they are tumbling like a rag doll, contorting their bodies into positions that are completely unnatural.

Note that the Soldier's Ballistic helmet (or any helmet, actually) basically secures on the wearer's head at basically the same point, the rider's chin There are no other fastening points on the head because there realistically isn't any other physical point that is as secure as under the chin .

It's highly likely that the reason Simoncelli's helmet came off was because his head was struck violently from behind by one of the motorcycles that collided with him.  

There are rumors that Rossi will retire soon, but his manager wrote on Twitter that the rumor is not true. Rossi himself has neither confirmed nor denied it.

He's had a terrible season and now this tragedy. I feel bad for him, and Colin.

RIP Super Sic.

Update: Rossi has confirmed he's not retiring.  

Thanks for the response; RIP #58  

It could be that the fit/retention of his helmet was compromised by the unusual volume of his hair.

Yes, it looked to me as if he saved it with his elbow/knee but then the tires caught traction and the bike oversteered back into following traffic.