Simoncelli: Making waves in MotoGP

Until his podium finish at Brno's Czech Grand Prix, Marco Simoncelli was in danger of making headlines for all the wrong reasons in 2011.

The Italian was involved in a series of on-track - and off-track - altercations with his fellow MotoGP riders, a sequence that reached its nadir at Le Mans when he made contact with Dani Pedrosa and caused the Spaniard to crash and break his collarbone.

Simoncelli received widespread condemnation and was handed a ride-through penalty, while also being summoned to the stewards' office. Even Valentino Rossi, one of Simoncelli's closest friends both in and out of the paddock, said the Italian was 'too hard this time'.

What was clear even during his spell of incidents, however, was that Simoncelli was arriving on the big stage - inevitably is his own way and his own style. Whether his riding sometimes transgressed the boundaries of what we might call acceptable, he was mixing it with the big boys, and taking no prisoners along the way.

Famously, that also included taking on world champion Jorge Lorenzo in an angry Estoril press conference, as tempers flared over riding ethics.

Simoncelli and Lorenzo had an infamous press conference spat at Estoril © sutton-images.com

"I think you have done a lot of touching with a lot of riders. How many races have you not crashed or touched anyone?," Lorenzo asked pointedly. "If, in the future, nothing happens, it's not a problem. But if in the future something happens with you, it will be a problem."

Simoncelli's response was typical of a man who is fast becoming a cult figure in the grand prix paddock, a man whose inner exuberance is manifested perfectly in his wild afro... "Okay, then I will get arrested..."

That prompted laughter from the crowds, and consternation from Lorenzo, who replied: "Everybody is laughing, but it's not funny, because we are playing with our lives." He had a point, and it's all too easy to mistake Simoncelli's sometimes languid, carefree attitude as an indication that he does not fully appreciate the impacts of his crashes and the dangers of racing.

Ask him about Jerez however, and he speaks with the same smile and the same nonchalance. There Simoncelli was in a promising lead - all the more so after Rossi and Casey Stoner touched and fell off - only to make a mistake of his own, high-siding out of the race. "I was very disappointed," he says, "but I was also happy to show I was a contender."

Such a sentiment goes a long way to defining Simoncelli. He is not prone to bouts of doubt, but rather possesses an unshakeable and absolute self-belief which allows him to seem untouched, or untroubled, by controversy and heartbreak in equal measure.

He is not impervious to either however. Speaking to AUTOSPORT about his first MotoGP podium - he had to wait until August 14 and Brno - he calls it a "great sensation - because in this year I was always very fast but unfortunately in the race I never get the podium."

Simoncelli finally reached the podium at Brno © sutton-images.com

Significantly, he goes on. "When I succeed to do that in Brno, it is like liberation for me: I feel more free after that."

Just as that podium had been a long time coming, it was also a pointer to a potentially great future in the sport. After bike problems at Indianapolis, he went on to finish fourth in the next three grands prix at Misano, Aragon, and Motegi, and lies eighth in the championship.

Perhaps more significantly, he has also earned the backing of Honda, who elected to back Simoncelli over Andrea Dovizioso for the third HRC-backed bike (although still run by Fausto Gresini's team) in 2012. "We had some discussions after the Brno race," Simoncelli says, "because they proposed to change my [technical] team and I didn't agree.

"I spoke with them and we found some agreement: I keep my team and crew for next year. For me this is very important. Personally I don't like to change so much; if I find some people with whom I have a good relationship with then I don't like to change. Also for me last year my team came with me from the 250s, and after we grow up, this year we still are improving so for me the next year we are finally ready to get the good results. For me it's stupid to change, its better to continue with the same people."

The logic is sound, but it takes a certain kind of character to refuse Honda's offer of a ride with the works team, particularly with the marque having to scale back budgets for next year. When asked him if Honda's concession came with any targets, or increased the pressure for 2012, the answer is unequivocal.

"No. The target next year is to fight every race for the podium and to get it in each race - that's my target, [not theirs]. Every year is a pressure year, because I'm a rider and I want to do the best result as possible. If I can get a good result I'm the first to be unhappy, and I put pressure on myself to get that."

So what can we expect from the man who has caused plenty of headlines, led races but taken only one podium in 2011. For starters the switch to 1000cc bikes may ease the disadvantage of his size, as he hopes the extra power will help compensate a little further for his larger frame. Has he ridden the bike though, or spoken to those who have?

"I think after the Motegi GP will be the first time [I ride]. After that, I think after the last race at Valencia. And no, I don't speak [with Dani Pedrosa or Casey Stoner, who have tested the bike] because we are not good friends."

Simoncelli's exuberant style is making him a fan favourite

Away from the bike, are there areas he can improve in his own style? "Sure. For me my speed now is good, but I can improve and I try. Most important though [I need to] be a little bit more consistent, more constant during the race, especially in the last part. This is for sure what I have to do to improve from my side, from my riding style and the set-up - to be fast in the last part."

The answers are not blunt, but punctuated again with the self-belief of a man being tipped as Italy's natural successor to Rossi. Off-track the similarities are apparent, from the laid-back nature to the effortless charisma and charm. The two are also great friends, and regularly hang out away from the circuit.

"Valentino is my good friend. He's very nice with me because especially when I pass into 250s and have some difficult moments he try to help me, to give me some advice so he is a very good friend for me."

Before we leave, I ask him one final question: can he ever emulate Rossi, and win races or even championships?

"When I start to do race in Italian championships on minibikes, already I was thinking that one day I will be in the world championships, MotoGP - this was my thing when I was a child, my only thing. So I hope, I hope."

Having already come this far, few would bet against him.