Rossi's Simoncelli tribute race suit auctioned for Rs 19.67 lakh

The leather race suit worn by Valentino Rossi at the 2014 Italian Grand in Mugello as a tribute to the late Marco Simoncelli got sold for Rs 19.67 lakh in an online auction. Wearing this race suit, Valentino Rossi had finished on the final step of the podium in front of his home fans. The suit was a race-spec D-Air unit crafted by Italian manufacturer Dainese, of which the Italian rider is a brand ambassador. The race suit sported the hashtag #thisisforSIC58 at the back and it was specially created and promoted by Dainese on its official website and various social media platforms.

The auction for the Marco Simoncelli tribute race suit opened on June 18th with minimum bid of €1. Owing to the importance of the suit, MotoGP aficionados showed great interest in the auction and a total of 123 bids were made and the winning bid amount was Rs 19.67 lakh. The amount generated from the auction will be donated to the Simoncelli Foundation for the Santa Marta project, which is a day care centre built for the disable at Coriano, the city where Marco Simoncelli was born. The race suit will be signed by the MotoGP legend and will be handed over to the winning bidder in a special display case between June 30th and July 1st. Apart from the race suit, Valentino Rossi has worn Simoncelli tribute helmets in the past.

Marco Simoncelli was popularly known as “Sic” and had won the 2008 championship in the Moto2 class before progressing to the premiere class in 2010. Simoncelli was renowned for his aggressive riding style and was warned by race officials on a numerous situations but it was this eccentricity that won him such a huge fan following. Despite the rivalry, Valentino Rossi and Sic shared a close bond before his untimely death in 2011 at the Malaysian GP. Simoncelli’s bike after regaining traction veered across the track into the path of Colin Edwards and Rossi with him hanging down the bike to control it. He was hit by Edwards in the lower body whereas Rossi bumped into his head owing to the impact he lost his helmet and died the same day following injuries sustained during the crash.