Marco Simoncelli Crash: Rising MotoGP Star Dies in Tragic Crash on Sunday

Italian MotoGP star Marco Simoncelli died on Sunday when he lost control of his Honda at turn 11 only four minutes into the Malaysian Grand Prix and swerved across the track into the path of oncoming riders.

Simoncelli succumbed to chest, head, and neck injuries.

The Malaysian circuit was the same one the 24-year-old 250cc world title in 2008.

Simoncelli was a rising star in MotoGP, and he became a full time global competitor in 2003, after he won the European 125cc title in 2002.

Spanish rider Dani Pedrosa has been one of Simoncelli's rivals over the year's, but is very sad to see a great star of MotoGP pass away much too soon.

Pedrosa said via the Mirror:

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"In a tragedy like this there is not much to say. I just want to give my condolences to his family and all the people who love him. I've been with his father and all we could do was to hug, nothing else matters."

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Pedrosa also noted how dangerous the sport is, and how people often forget tragic events like this can happen.

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"Many times we ourselves forget how dangerous this sport can be and when you lose people on the way nothing has any meaning. It's clear that we all do what we like, what we love, but on days like today nothing matters."

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Simoncelli will be missed by the racing community, and will be missed by everyone involved with MotoGP.

The world of motorsports has been hit hard the past week, with IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon dying in a horrific 15-car crash in Las Vegas on October 16.