Hitting the Apex Page #3

to be world champion?

It's wonderful.

I... I...

I can't speak.

I am too hot. I'm sorry.

Congratulations anyway, Marco.

Thanks very much.

It's wonderful. Grazie tutti.

Scusati.

Marco Simoncelli

lived in Coriano,

a few miles from Valentino Rossi's home

in Tavullia.

Eight years Rossi's junior,

he sharpened his skills

on the same twisting roads

that the world champion

had ridden as a teenager.

And over time, the world champion

became a friend and mentor.

From 2007,

I passed a lot of time with him.

Every day at the gym,

motocross, go-kart.

A lot a lot together.

Yeah, he was my best friend

in the paddock.

Our relationship become more deep.

The doors to MotoGP

opened for Simoncelli.

He made his debut in 2010

with Fausto Gresini's team.

Like everybody before him,

he struggled.

At first he had some trouble

and he crashed a few times.

But moving from two-stroke engines

to four-stroke engines,

going from one way of working

to another takes time.

It's a huge leap in performance.

From a top speed of around 170 miles

per hour in the intermediate class

to over 220 in MotoGP.

A MotoGP bike accelerates

faster than a Formula 1 car.

Crashing can mean

flying through the air

faster than a free-falling skydiver.

A 200-mile-an-hour landing survivable

as long as you hit the ground

at a shallow angle and slide.

At the beginning of the season,

we were in big trouble with the bike.

Step-by-step, we improved every race.

And now the last three races for me

are so positive,

I hope to end the season

in the best way

and to step up on the podium.

There is Marco Simoncelli.

Simoncelli is gonna do it.

No!

Dovizioso has so much more drive

coming out of the Parabolica.

Well done, Simoncelli.

He's going to be disappointed.

That's his dad, isn't it?

Giving him a big hug.

Marco Simoncelli, we're gonna see

a lot of you next season.

I don't think there's any doubt

about that. Great ride.

By the end of the year,

Simoncelli had emerged

as one of the fastest of them all.

He hadn't won a race yet,

but he'd won a lot of hearts.

He was just what many people wanted

in a motorcycle racer,

a demon on the bike

and a nice guy off it.

I'm happy

for the big improvement that I do

with my team during this year.

And the results

coming better and better.

And now we hope to continue in this way.

At the final race in Valencia,

he qualified on the front row

for the first time,

ready to take on anyone,

including newly-crowned

world champion Jorge Lorenzo.

Jorge Lorenzo

fights back against Marco Simoncelli

and gets up the inside.

Simoncelli fights back immediately.

He loves to be aggressive, doesn't he?

I read something he tell

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