Italian Legendary Tour 2011 with Marco Simoncelli

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Italian Legendary Tour 2011 with Marco Simoncelli
Froberg

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Italian Legendary Tour 2011 with Marco Simoncelli

Finale: Out and about with Marco Simoncelli
Italian Legendary Tour 2011

Marco Simoncelli had a fatal accident at the Malaysian Grand Prix. A few weeks earlier, MOTORRAD fleet manager Rainer Froberg experienced the racing driver up close on a relaxed tour through Italy.

December 08, 2011

Sunday was fantastic. It was one of those golden October days. Too good to spend in front of the TV. I just tune in to cheer Bradl on: Will he win the world title in Malaysia? At the MotoGP race, I’m getting out again. Stoner has the world championship in his pocket, Rossi will probably have no chance, what else should happen? After the warm-up I switch off, daughter Mara is already sitting in the car, we drive over a golden-yellow Swabian Alb, enjoying every minute in the sun. A great day. We come home starved. I was preparing dinner when I heard my wife calling from the living room: “Rainer, come on. Marco Simoncelli is dead! ”As if in a trance I sit in front of the television, see the fall, the collision with Colin Edwards and Rossi, the motionless body on the track. Dead? No, no, it can’t be, I think, it’s not possible. My stomach spasms, I want to throw up.

Flashback, Italy, a few weeks earlier. For two days I’ve been riding my motorcycle with 80 people from all over the world. A happy group, winners of the “Italian Legendary Tour” organized by Dainese. It’s more than a promotional event for the Italian clothing brand. It is a promotional event for motorcycling. Regardless of whether we stop at gas stations, drive through remote Alpine villages or stop in the middle of a busy piazza: people come and are amazed. Wave, form lanes when we set off again. It is one of a kind. Of course, also because the group is led by prominent tour guides: Giacomo Agostini, a real folk hero, with whom even a Sophia Loren type signora loses composure and is about to faint. Or Carl Fogarty, the old warrior who is so familiar to the Italians because of his ties to Ducati. The Englishman won the Superbikes World Championship four times for the Reds. That makes you an Italian – as an honor.

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But tonight it should be a real home game again. We turned from Lake Garda to Lake Maggiore. A boat takes us to Isola Pescatori for dinner. International language confusion hums above the tables. Suddenly there is silence, followed by clapping. Everyone turns to a person who has just entered the cozy garden restaurant: It is Marco Simoncelli, he is holding his girlfriend Kate in his arms.

Laughing in a friendly way, maybe a little shy, they both wave around and sit down somewhere. The common meal continues without big speeches or gestures, the cackling noise level rises again, in the middle of it all the unmistakable curls. In front of the restaurant I hear the village youth shouting: “Marco, Marco!”


Italian Legendary Tour 2011 with Marco Simoncelli


Barbanti

Marco & Marco: On the third day of the “Italian Legendary Tour”, the 80 participants will be led by Simoncelli (left) and ex-world champion Lucchinelli (right).

He gets up, grins and fulfills the autograph requests: “Va bene?” – “Grazie.” On the way back to the boat, I am the last to get on and suddenly stand at the stern with Marco and Kate. We laugh at each other, break our wheels briefly in a funny English-Italo mix: Everything okay, did it taste good, how are the bikes, is the tour fun? That’s enough for the moment, the boat chugs across the dark lake, colored lights glitter on the shore. Marco is holding Kate tightly in his arms, and I too enjoy the almost devout atmosphere. A short handshake in parting: “Buona notte!”

Punctually at eight the next morning, he is back at the breakfast table, we wave briefly to each other: “Ciao, everything okay?” “Si, si tutto bene!” A little later, all the participants of the tour are on the bikes. Of course, the curly hair is the magnet. Please also share a photo, an autograph on the station wagon, the helmet, the t-shirt. Then the curls disappear in the helmet. And suddenly Marco Simonelli is just one motorcyclist among many. Someone who has put his girlfriend on the Honda CB 1000 R behind him and wants to do a nice lap on a sunny day. Like everyone else. A loud jumble of engines starts. Rattling Ducatis, hoarse four-cylinder hum from Brutale and F4.

In the mountains, the group pulls apart like a gigantic string of pearls. But as soon as it goes into small towns, the crowd jostles and gathers around the prominent tour guide at every red light. My dearest wish: when switching to green, follow the rear of Marcos Honda for a few 100 meters. And anyone who did it will have saved that moment for their entire life. The day goes by. Way too fast. Although we have already unwound over 300 kilometers on the smallest mountain passes and sat in the saddle for hours. It could take forever, but we have reached the destination of our tour. For the finale, we move into Turin in a convoy, escorted by the police, who cordon off the intersections and lead us without stopping into the center of the world-famous Piazza San Carlo. Marco takes off his helmet, shakes his curly mane and is immediately surrounded by a crowd of people again. Then he goes with Kate by the hand. Like when he arrived, he waved once again, laughing, to the group: Grace, that was great. Ciao, Marco …

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