Simo to face Race Direction at Barcelona

http://www.twowheelsblog.com/post/6458/marco-simoncelli-to-face-race-direction-at-barcelona#continua



Hard or stupid pass,simo served his penalty, i'd imagine a stern talking too from the big Biskit at HRC so why does this need to be brought up again?

Bloody hell,The Saga Continues...

Agreed! It would be stupid to suspend him for a race, there hardly enough riders on the grid. I suggest race direction make him cut his hair

If anybody has any sense race direction will just be having a quiet word with Marco to clarify their position from LeMans, which is a good idea.

Tom said:

If anybody has any sense race direction will just be having a quiet word with Marco to clarify their position from LeMans, which is a good idea.

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Hopefully thats the case and they're not intent on making an example of him, purely because of all the bad press they've been getting lately. I think it's fair to say he knows he needs to calm it a bit!

spooky said:

Hopefully thats the case and they're not intent on making an example of him, purely because of all the bad press they've been getting lately. I think it's fair to say he knows he needs to calm it a bit!

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I agree, race direction have been under the spotlight a bit but equally i think a lot of people were not totally in support of the penalty that was given. Marco needs to be sat down so he can calmly understand their side of the story away from press conferences and rivals ganging up on him. That way there is a chance that he can wind himself back a notch without losing any more face and he wont kick off in the press 'hamilton style' like an idiot.

Tom said:

I agree, race direction have been under the spotlight a bit but equally i think a lot of people were not totally in support of the penalty that was given. Marco needs to be sat down so he can calmly understand their side of the story away from press conferences and rivals ganging up on him. That way there is a chance that he can wind himself back a notch without losing any more face and he wont kick off in the press 'hamilton style' like an idiot.

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Couldnt agree more!

Marco can probably expect to be public enemy number 1 with the fans in Barcelona this weekend.

Frizzle said:

Marco can probably expect to be public enemy number 1 with the fans in Barcelona this weekend.

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Damn yeah. I believe Pedro grew up just down the road.

Apparently he has had threats of physical harm against him. Krop has a good article about it over at Motomatters.



Sick of reading this type of story in sport these days....people just dont get it...its JUST a sport (albeit one of the best) and these guys are there for our entertainment. To think that a few ......... would actually even contemplate this sort of behaviour is reprehensible. Everyone probably has a dislike for certain individual sportspeople but to even think about physically assaulting one of these guys - well you have to be mentally unstable. Even when some of them get booed it is very disappointing - they deserve better than this.

Tom said:

I agree, race direction have been under the spotlight a bit but equally i think a lot of people were not totally in support of the penalty that was given. Marco needs to be sat down so he can calmly understand their side of the story away from press conferences and rivals ganging up on him. That way there is a chance that he can wind himself back a notch without losing any more face and he wont kick off in the press 'hamilton style' like an idiot.

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I think there is a danger of the baby being thrown out with the bathwater as it needs to be remembered that it is called bike racing because the riders actually are supposed to race each other.



I think marco was involved in several quite questionable incidents prior to entering the premier class, but whilst this latest incident had an unfortunate outcome pedrosa did make at least some contribution to the encounter, and could have settled for 3rd or kept his powder dry for later in the race in terms of the whole season. As I said at the time of the incident, a racer can't be criticised for attempting to immediately re-pass, particularly dani who has been trenchantly criticised for not fighting back in the past, but marco clearly was faster at the time. One also wonders whether dani was feeling pressure regarding his status in the team and/or from his management with stoner and simoncelli now matching him for pace.



Marco's past record has counted against him no doubt, but it was not politically smart to question the decision of the stewards, one thing you can't get away with in most sports and which usually results in a further encounter with them as it appears has resulted here. As a stoner fan I am not going to criticise a rider for lack of political savvy or speaking his mind in general though.

michaelm said:

Marco's past record has counted against him no doubt,

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Marco looks just plain scary to race against ....... its more the what will happen next that have the other guys up in arms.



and rightfully so ....



but its a shame , cos he seems a nice fellow ........ its just that he looses it when the situation gets tight.







I'm sure everyone wants to see the best outcome .......... ie a fast Marco ......... but a safer Marco ........



it will all play out ......... hopefully for the better

Mr Squiggle said:

its JUST a sport (albeit one of the best) and these guys are there for our entertainment.

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Although i'm aware of the business side of things and how important the fans now are to most sports, but fundamentally the competitors are there for themselves, not to entertain.

michaelm said:

I think marco was involved in several quite questionable incidents prior to entering the premier class,

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I think it is totally unreasonable to hold a riders record in a previous class against him when he enters motogp. Obviously he'll carry a certain amount of reputation forward but Marco has had what, one questionable race in his motogp career (sepang), as a rookie and now they are using some of his rough riding from 2 years ago against him.

Tom said:

I think it is totally unreasonable to hold a riders record in a previous class against him when he enters motogp. Obviously he'll carry a certain amount of reputation forward but Marco has had what, one questionable race in his motogp career (sepang), as a rookie and now they are using some of his rough riding from 2 years ago against him.

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Can't agree Tom. The guy is a repeat offender with a long rap sheet. If he's called to the principal's office he has no-one to blame but himself.

He's had sufficient warnings and shows neither remorse, nor acceptance of culpablitity. Moreover he hasn't demonstrated any convincing

evidence that he gives a flying .... about the injury to Pedrosa. He's like a big out of control child that needs a serious time out.

Simoncelli's continued behavior is evidence of the old saying; History repeats itself. Some people seem to feel that his talent

should buy him a get-out-of-jail-free card, but really... he should be held to the same standards as those with less talent.

Keshav said:

Can't agree Tom. The guy is a repeat offender with a long rap sheet. If he's called to the principal's office he has no-one to blame but himself.

He's had sufficient warnings and shows neither remorse, nor acceptance of culpablitity. Moreover he hasn't demonstrated any convincing

evidence that he gives a flying .... about the injury to Pedrosa. He's like a big out of control child that needs a serious time out.

Simoncelli's continued behavior is evidence of the old saying; History repeats itself. Some people seem to feel that his talent

should buy him a get-out-of-jail-free card, but really... he should be held to the same standards as those with less talent.

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Well i don't agree, Marco did some wild things in the 250 days but the most recent of those was over 18 months ago, and even then he was only even penalised on one occasion and only with a reprimand/slap on the wrist rather than a penalty. Looking objectively if those incidents were not worthy of punishment then, they cannot be used cumulatively after such a large space of time. I just don't believe the penalty he got in Le Mans was given objectively without reflection of things outside of the incident in question.

Tom said:

Well i don't agree, Marco did some wild things in the 250 days but the most recent of those was over 18 months ago, and even then he was only even penalised on one occasion and only with a reprimand/slap on the wrist rather than a penalty. Looking objectively if those incidents were not worthy of punishment then, they cannot be used cumulatively after such a large space of time. I just don't believe the penalty he got in Le Mans was given objectively without reflection of things outside of the incident in question.

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Many people felt that race direction were neglectful and did not use their authority effectively back when Marco was

in the 250 class.



That they were remiss in the past shouldn't preclude them from doing their job properly in the present. The fact that

instances of his wrecklessness were in the not so distant past doesn't make the same behavior acceptable in the present.

In fact it just proves that slap on the wrist treatment was of no consequence to Marco, and he believed that he had license

to repeat the same behaviors. He's a spoiled child that needs to be sufficiently disciplined. Without that, he will just continue

to behave like a neanderthal, heedlessly endangering fellow riders. Being lenient with him clearly doesn't work.

He is starting to come around if you believe this latest quote





Marco Simoncelli "I have had time over the two-week break to think about the race at Le Mans. I am still disappointed with what happened to Dani and I hope that he has recovered from his injury in time for this weekend. I am also disappointed because Honda were unable to celebrate having four bikes in the top four positions at the French Grand Prix. Overall on reflection I have realised where I have gone wrong and in the future I will try at certain times to evaluate the situation better and be a little more cautious. I know that I'm probably not going to get a standing ovation at Barcelona but I hope that if I am criticised it is done in a civilised manner and not in the way that has happened in other sports in the past. In any case I just want to put the controversy behind me and get out there on my bike and start working towards a race that I am sure the team and I have the potential to do well in."

Actions speak louder than words.

Keshav said:

Actions speak louder than words.

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Bingo. His words have that unmistakable PR stench - I don't think Simo truly believes he's done anything wrong.

Tom said:

Although i'm aware of the business side of things and how important the fans now are to most sports, but fundamentally the competitors are there for themselves, not to entertain.







I think it is totally unreasonable to hold a riders record in a previous class against him when he enters motogp. Obviously he'll carry a certain amount of reputation forward but Marco has had what, one questionable race in his motogp career (sepang), as a rookie and now they are using some of his rough riding from 2 years ago against him.

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I agree with both points.

Keshav said:

Can't agree Tom. The guy is a repeat offender with a long rap sheet. If he's called to the principal's office he has no-one to blame but himself.

He's had sufficient warnings and shows neither remorse, nor acceptance of culpablitity. Moreover he hasn't demonstrated any convincing

evidence that he gives a flying .... about the injury to Pedrosa. He's like a big out of control child that needs a serious time out.

Simoncelli's continued behavior is evidence of the old saying; History repeats itself. Some people seem to feel that his talent

should buy him a get-out-of-jail-free card, but really... he should be held to the same standards as those with less talent.

Click to expand...

I wouldn't blame marco if he told Dorna/motogp to stick there ..... series up their arses and went to a series where they dont cry about close racing. Seriously motogp is turming into a ....... WI (womans institition) meeting with a load og old ladys whining about each other.