Marco Simoncelli was the spearhead of Gilera in its 250 stage. The Piaggio Group was, at that time, trying to give strength to its different brands, and they found a perfect ally in the Italian. He competed four seasons in the quarter-liter, and all of them he did so with a motorcycle that ended up being an icon: the Gilera 250 GP.
Colors that gradually gained prominence in the category until, with a machine that was not as competitive as the official Aprilia, Marco Simoncelli began to fight for the top positions in 2008. Marco’s first podium in 250 came in Portugal, the third race of the year and from there he began to fight for the copper with Álvaro Bautista who finished second.
Right in Sepang, the penultimate race of the season and the track that would take Simoncelli forever a few years later, Marco and his Gilera 250 GP managed to achieve glory and finished turning into an icon a decoration that, broadly speaking, continued to gain fame when in 2009 he fought to renew a title, the last 250. Although Marco did not succeed, he fought for the title with Aoyama and Barberá, losing to the Japanese and the Spanish.
Now Michael Dunlop pays tribute to Marco Simoncelli
Now it is Michael Dunlop who has uploaded a small video to his social networks in which Marco Simoncelli’s Gilera 250 GP is the protagonist. Well, actually we don’t know if it is the motorcycle that the Italian used or any of the other 250 of the time that left Noale, but we do know that it has his decoration.
What’s more, although brief, Michael himself, who is an absolute legend of road races, who has won 36 times in the Isle of Man TT and who has also surpassed his father’s record in Irish road races with 135 victories on the roads of his country, left an enigmatic “Now, something special” while warming up the 250.
What does something special mean? Well, we don’t know that. Perhaps you have purchased this bike for your personal enjoyment, perhaps to invest considering the prices or, perhaps and with a little luck one day we will see you compete with it. In any case, a nice gesture from one motorcycling legend to another.
