Marco Simoncelli Is Not Dead He Is Alive In Our Hearts

Gresini Honda have withdrawn from the Valencia MotoGP in November following the death of their rider Marco Simoncelli on Sunday.

Simoncelli, 24, was killed when he was struck by Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi after in a crash in Malaysia.

Team boss Fausto Gresini also confirmed his riders would miss the tests which follow on from the final race of the season in Spain on 6 November.

Gresini said: "The only certainty is that my team won't participate."

Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo is already a doubt to race in Valencia after he injured his finger in a crash in Australia, while Edwards could miss out after he injured his shoulder in the accident which killed Simoncelli.

Gresini saw another of his riders, Daijiro Kato, die in 2003 and his decision to withdraw his teams from the MotoGP and Moto2 events next month means Hiroshi Aoyama, Michele Pirro and Yuki Takahashi will not ride.

Gresini told Corriere dello Sport: "Everything happened so fast. I'm lost for words.

"I know our job is dangerous, that risk is part of the game, but you always hope nothing happens.

"When it does happen and you find yourself in the middle of it, everything changes, it's difficult to accept it.

"The crash was caused by a sequence of incredibly negative circumstances.

Posted in: Motor Gp