Italian sport in shock after death of Simoncelli

Simoncelli nicknamed Sic or SuperSic died of chest, head and neck injuries after he lost control of his Honda at turn 11 four minutes into the race, and swerved across the track, straight into the path of American rider Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi of Italy. He was 24.Rossi, a good friend of Simoncellis, was clearly distraught and was unable to say anything in the immediate aftermath of the accident. He left a short message on Twitter later Sunday.Sic for me was like a younger brother, as strong on the track as he was sweet in life, Rossi wrote. I still cant believe it. I will miss him a lot.In Italy, there was a minutes silence before all football matches and players wore black armbands as a tribute to the young rider.Today is one of the saddest days of my presidency, said Gianni Petrucci, president of Italian sports governing body CONI. The tragic death of Marco Simoncelli has deeply upset and shaken me.Honda teammate Casey Stoner said after the crash that he feared for Simoncelli.As soon as I saw the footage it just makes you sick inside, the newly crowned MotoGP champion said. Whenever the helmet comes off thats not a good sign.Stoner said later: I am in shock and saddened by the loss of Marco. When these things happen they make you remember how precious life is and Im very upset. Im close to Marcos family, I cant imagine what theyre going through.Spanish rider Dani Pedrosa said the accident would remind everyone of the dangers of the sport.When things like this happen. theres little to say, nothing else matters, Pedrosa said. These are things that shouldnt happen. But this is the sport and sometimes we forget how dangerous our sport is. Simoncelli was a very strong racer.