Pistunzen’s heart breaks for Marco Simoncelli
It’s no joking matter. When you talk about drivers dying, sadness overwhelms everything else. I only want to say one thing in memory of the great Simoncelli: in my day, and by that I mean the 1950s and 60s, a lot of motor racing drivers died. Too many, in fact. There was one odd thing about the accidents: if the driver, who wouldn’t have been wearing either a safety harness or a fireproof suit and shoes like now, ended up out cold on the asphalt with his shoes still on, you knew he was still alive. If he’d lost his shoes, you knew he was gone. Someone explained to me that it was a natural thing – a sort of contraction that caused the shoes to come off.
I never miss a moto race because I have relatives involved, and because of the extraordinary courage and skill of the drivers. But when last Sunday, I was watching the Moto GP in Malaysia and I saw that helmet rolling around, a shiver ran down my spine. I remembered the shoes of long ago. Poor, dear Sic. I didn’t know him personally but I loved him in the same way that I love anyone that has the courage to do the thing they love.
I’ll remember you.
PUBLISHED IN PISTUNZEN'S BLOG BY PISTUNZEN ON 10.29.2011
Credit: Ferrari S.p.A. (www.ferrari.com)
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