Thousands Pay Final Respects To Marco Simoncelli At Moving Funeral

Marco Simoncelli was finally laid to rest on Thursday, amidst a massive crowd who had come to pay their last respects. The funeral was a packed affair, full of the friends and family of the Italian, as well as a large number of people from the world of motorcycle racing. The service, held in the Santa Maria Assunta church in the small town of Coriano, not far from the Misano circuit, started at 3pm and was led by the Bishop of Rimini, Francesco Lambiasi, when Simoncelli's coffin was carried in by friends and members of his San Carlo Gresini team. It ended a little over an hour afterwards, as Simoncelli was taken from the church, to the strains of Italian pop legend Vasco Rossi singing "Siamo solo noi". His body was taken to Cesena, where he is due to be cremated.

Massive crowds lined the streets of Coriano, and watched the funeral on large screens set up outside the church. Simoncelli's coffin was accompanied by mass applause on its journey to and from the church, and balloons with the words "SIC" and his racing number, 58, were also released in tribute as he passed. Inside the church, Simoncelli's coffin was flanked on either side by the Gilera 250 RSA on which he won the 250 World Championship in 2008, and the Honda RC212V which he raced this year in MotoGP, and on which he achieved two pole positions and two podiums this season.

Source:

http://www.motogp.com/en/videos/latest+videos#Marco+Simoncellis+Funeral

http://www.ilrestodelcarlino.it/rimini/cronaca/2011/10/27/608388-dedichi...

http://www.youtube.com/user/regolios#p/u/7/6A_KagvvqiQ

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