Paolo Simoncelli has always had strong opinions on the Grand Prix paddock as well as on the course of the races, and he has always made it a point of honor to express them in a column that can be found on his team's website. In his last, he returned to a MotoGP event at Le Mans which impressed him with the intensity of the spectacle, of which Marc Marquez was no stranger. Returning after 45 days of convalescence and what's more on a Kalex chassis that he had never ridden before, the Honda official renewed his subscription to the front with the uncompromising style that is his trademark. But who seems to tire even his peers, in a peloton with nerves on edge since more prone to injuries with the new Grand Prix format... The kind of trial that Paolo Simoncelli knows very well. It reminds him of his late son, the late Marco. And you can feel it in his argument where he puts all his heart into it…
Paolo Simoncelli begins his remarks by castigating those who cry wolf about this pack that the MotoGP peloton has become, subject to “ overtaking too risky or too close to other drivers, almost bordering on absurdity ". And he asks this question: “ and if last Sunday there had been Marc Marquez between ? What if he had been guilty of any of the incidents or contacts that occurred? » The Italian responds, without doubting the fate that would have been reserved for the eight-time World Champion: “ they would have burned him at the stake in perfect Joan of Arc style, to quote a random French woman ».
Paolo Simoncelli: “ let's appreciate the beauty of this sport and let these guys do what only a few in the world can do! »
From there, he develops, relying in particular on his painful memories: “ what Marc Marquez is accused of today seems to me to be a story I've heard before... it seems incredible to me that a guy, after forty-five days of convalescence, gets on a motorcycle with a frame that he's never tried before, and risks taking the pole (only snatched by a great Bagnaia). And what do we do? We criticize it… Seriously? He, unlike others, is accused of overtaking by being too aggressive and with maneuvers bordering on impropriety, but the overtaking, the trajectories flush with the curb, adrenaline and thrills are the essence of motorcycling. Without that this sport would not exist ».
« We haven't seen a race like Sunday's in MotoGP for a long time. Incredible braking, crossing the limit line. Like it or not, he beautified her and made her a lover that had us all glued to the screen. A race like this needs to be taken into account. These people offer THE show that the motorcycle world needs, in a sporting context where football is the master. So I say to myself: let's appreciate the beauty of this sport and let these guys do what only a few in the world can do! ". Since Paolo Simoncelli made reference to national history, we can therefore imagine that with this presentation, he also made his revolution and enacted in France the Declaration of the Rights of the Pilot and the Show.
