In La Mia Storia, Valentino Rossi revisits the moment he grasped the full weight of Marco Simoncelli’s death at Sepang. He describes a profound desolation and the burden of feeling personally responsible for what happened. The two Italians had been friends before Simoncelli moved into MotoGP in 2010, having already won the 2008 250cc world championship.

The crash at Sepang

The accident occurred at the 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix, at Turn 11 on the second lap. Simoncelli lost the front of his motorcycle but tried to keep it upright instead of sliding towards the outside of the circuit. His trajectory carried him towards the inside, where Rossi and Colin Edwards were following. The contact could not be avoided.

Rossi writes that he understood what had happened only after returning to the pits. Alessio Salucci then approached him in a devastated state and said that Simoncelli’s helmet had come off. Rossi later watched the moment of impact on the circuit monitors and felt responsible for the outcome. At the same time, he recognises that the crash unfolded through a sequence of circumstances rather than one isolated decision.

Why he kept racing

Rossi says that when he was asked whether he would retire at the end of 2011, the possibility had not entered his thoughts—not immediately after the crash and not in the days that followed. In his account, Simoncelli knew the risks of racing and loved the sport. Rossi says he felt the same. He therefore continued competing for a further 10 years, finally retiring in 2021.