Had his helmet not come off, and had he not been struck by riders Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi, Simoncelli (“Sic,” to those who knew him) would likely have walked away from the low side crash with only minor injuries.
It wasn’t to be, and Simoncelli succumbed to his injuries shortly after the incident. Almost immediately, fans began to circulate a petition to name Italy’s Misano Circuit after the fallen rider.
After nearly two weeks of debate, the owners of the Misano Circuit have unanimously agreed to dedicate the Misano Circuit to Simoncelli.
As quoted in Two Wheels Blog, Luca Colalacovo, CEO of the company behind Misano, said, “We owe it to the memory of Sic... We are happy and proud to associate Misano with Marco Simoncelli, a champion in sport and life.”
Perhaps the best example of what Simoncelli means to Misano is illustrated by this: the circuit has agreed not to use Simoncelli’s name in any marketing or sales efforts relating to the Misano track.