Hitting the Apex Page #2

until he achieves them.

He's a non-conformist.

A perfectionist.

And of all that together

with the right circumstances

has enabled him

to reach the level he's now at.

Dani Pedrosa excelled

on the smaller bikes,

winning three titles.

In MotoGP, the diminutive Spaniard

finished second to Stoner in 2007

and second again to Lorenzo in 2010,

pushing Rossi down to third

in the championship standings.

With Valentino Rossi in

apparent decline at the age of 31,

Italy is looking for a new MotoGP hero.

Enter Marco Simoncelli.

I took him to ride mini bikes.

I didn't take him to piano classes.

He loved it. It was easy.

The first race, he fell three times.

He didn't win.

But he learned fast.

All of them, I've seen all his races.

Little by little, with difficulty,

with many concerns,

we got where he wanted to be.

From his determination

and the way he rode

we always knew he would be great.

Me and his mum.

Racing

in the intermediate class,

Simoncelli took six victories in 2008

and clinched the world title

in the tropical heat of Malaysia.

Marco, how does that sound,

to be world champion?

It's wonderful.

I... I...

I can't speak.

I am too hot. I'm sorry.

Congratulations anyway, Marco.

Thanks very much.

It's wonderful. Grazie tutti.

Scusati.

Marco Simoncelli

lived in Coriano,

a few miles from Valentino Rossi's home

in Tavullia.

Eight years Rossi's junior,

he sharpened his skills

on the same twisting roads

that the world champion

had ridden as a teenager.

And over time, the world champion

became a friend and mentor.

From 2007,

I passed a lot of time with him.

Every day at the gym,

motocross, go-kart.

A lot a lot together.

Yeah, he was my best friend

in the paddock.

Our relationship become more deep.

The doors to MotoGP

opened for Simoncelli.

He made his debut in 2010

with Fausto Gresini's team.

Like everybody before him,

he struggled.

At first he had some trouble

and he crashed a few times.

But moving from two-stroke engines

to four-stroke engines,

going from one way of working

to another takes time.

It's a huge leap in performance.

From a top speed of around 170 miles

per hour in the intermediate class

to over 220 in MotoGP.

A MotoGP bike accelerates

faster than a Formula 1 car.

Crashing can mean

flying through the air

faster than a free-falling skydiver.

A 200-mile-an-hour landing survivable

as long as you hit the ground

at a shallow angle and slide.

At the beginning of the season,

we were in big trouble with the bike.

Step-by-step, we improved every race.

And now the last three races for me

are so positive,

I hope to end the season

in the best way

and to step up on the podium.

There is Marco Simoncelli.

Simoncelli is gonna do it.

No!

Dovizioso has so much more drive

coming out of the Parabolica.

Well done, Simoncelli.

He's going to be disappointed.

That's his dad, isn't it?

Giving him a big hug.

Marco Simoncelli, we're gonna see

a lot of you next season.

I don't think there's any doubt

about that. Great ride.

By the end of the year,

Simoncelli had emerged

as one of the fastest of them all.

He hadn't won a race yet,

but he'd won a lot of hearts.

He was just what many people wanted

in a motorcycle racer,

a demon on the bike

and a nice guy off it.

I'm happy

for the big improvement that I do

with my team during this year.

And the results

coming better and better.

And now we hope to continue in this way.

At the final race in Valencia,

he qualified on the front row

for the first time,

ready to take on anyone,

including newly-crowned

world champion Jorge Lorenzo.

Jorge Lorenzo

fights back against Marco Simoncelli

and gets up the inside.

Simoncelli fights back immediately.

He loves to be aggressive, doesn't he?

I read something he tell

about my riding style,

but, I don't know,

for me he said some wrong things...

Because he said I touch him

and maybe he crashed.

Lorenzo dives

for the inside line and touches!

Oh, he was almost down!

And he was just hanging on.

Lorenzo is absolutely furious!

I was in front and he tried to pass me

and he did a mistake.

He hurt me.

His tire was on my leather

from the leg to the shoulder.

So for me it's not a correct example.

It's working? Yeah?

For my side, I think yesterday

I speak the right words.

And for me, it's not a problem.

If in the future, it doesn't happen

anything, it's not a problem.

We'll see what happens in the future.

Yes, but you did

a wrong example for me.

I think you have a lot of touching

with a lot of riders.

Yes, but the example

was wrong for me.

How many races I doesn't crash?

I don't touch any rider.

I said that your example was wrong.

Sorry, eh?

This is your opinion.

But I think a lot of people

here in the paddock,

a lot of riders

have the same opinion of me.

Try to ask.

Ask Dovizioso for example...

For example, ask Dovizioso in 2005.

It doesn't matter.

If in the future it doesn't happen,

it's not a problem for me.

But in the future if something

happens with you, will be a problem.

OK. I will be arrested.

OK, let's quiet...

Let's calm down a little bit.

Sorry.

No, you and Marco, that is fine.

That's no problem.

I can speak?

Of course you can speak. Please.

No. This question...

Everybody's laughing...

But it's not funny

because we are playing with our lives.

We are riding at 300 per hour.

With bikes, very powerful

and very heavy.

It's not mini-bikes.

So, it's a dangerous sport.

And you have to think

what do you do.

At the highest level,

motorcycle racing

is a display of dangerous brilliance.

The performance of death-defying feats

of skill and daring.

That is the underlying contest.

A dance with potential destruction.

You know that this is dangerous.

When you ride at 100%,

you always risk.

but when you have the feeling

that the situation is under control,

you can push the last 10%.

We know the dangers of racing.

You need to respect

the riders next to you.

You don't know

the last time you'll see them.

We go into races knowing it can happen.

You don't think about it.

If that starts creeping in your mind,

then you leave.

You've gotta take risks

to stay in the game.

When you run the numbers,

the odds are on the riders' side.

Over an 18-race season,

the practice sessions and races

in the three MotoGP classes

produce hundreds of crashes.

Serious injuries are limited

to a few broken bones most of the time.

Do you know how many crashes

there have been this year?

Six hundred and ninety.

Six hundred and ninety crashes.

Fractures and so on?

I don't know, about 30.

In my career, also when I was

young, I don't take a lot of risks.

I take risks,

but not more than necessary.

Graziano took a lot more risks then me.

Valentino Rossi's father

Graziano was a grand prix rider

in the Seventies and Eighties

who retired through injury.

Growing up, I learned from him.

The son learned

from the father's mistakes.

Bad memories, a lot of crashes,

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