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Thousands of mourners have gathered in the streets of Coriano, Italy to bid farewell to the MotoGP rider Marco Simoncelli who died in an accident at the Malaysian Grand Prix Sunday.

The 24-year-old’s hearse arrived at the Santa Maria Assunta church in the central Italian town just before 3pm local time.

Family, members of Team Gresini and various guests including seven-time world champions Valentino Rossi attended the funeral while an estimated 6,000 fans gathered outside to watch the service on big screens.

Simoncelli lost control of his bike on the exit of Turn 11 and was hit first by Colin Edwards and then by Rossi, knocking his helmet off and causing “serious trauma” to his head, neck and chest. He was taken to the medical centre for treatment but died from his injuries.

The 24-year-old Italian rider was involved in a collision with Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards. He lost control of his bike on turn 11 and lost his helmet in the ensuing crash. The race was immediately stopped and Simoncelli was rushed to the local medical centre, where he died from his injuries.

His death comes just one week after the tragic loss of British Indycar driver Dan Wheldon, who crashed at the season finale in Las Vegas.

Tributes poured in via Twitter for the affable young Italian rider, one of the sport’s rising stars.

Valentino Rossi, MotoGP rider
“Sic for me was like a youngest brother. so strong on track and so sweet in the normal life. I will miss him a lot.”
@ValeYellow46

Cal Crutchlow, British MotoGP rider
“RIP Marco Simoncelli ! A great rider and all round nice guy. My thoughts are with all his family & friends. I will never forget today.”
@calcrutchlow

Jorge Lorenzo, MotoGP rider
“Only you will be missed, rest in peace Marco” (translated)
@lorenzo99

Andrea Dovizioso, MotoGP rider
“RIP Marco. My thoughts and my prayers are with Marco’s family and friends”
@AndreaDovizioso

Alvaro Bautista, MotoGP rider
“SIC was a great driver and we will all miss him. Much encouragement to family and friends #58
@19Bautista

Nicky Hayden, MotoGP rider
“Sometimes life just don’t make sense… RIP #58 you were a star on & off track we all going to miss you…”
@NickyHayden69

MotoGP, official world championship
“MotoGP extends its deepest condolences to Marco’s family, friends and team at this tragic loss.”
@MotoGP

LCR Honda, MotoGP team
“A great tragedy hits MotoGP world today, we have lost a friend Marco Simoncelli. We cry a friend.”
@LCRHondaMotoGP

Lewis Hamilton, F1 driver
“RIP Marco Simoncelli. My thoughts are with his family, friends and team at this extremely sad time. Another tragic loss at such an early age.”
@LewisHamilton

Jenson Button, F1 driver
“R.I.P Marco… Such an exciting talent lost. My thoughts are with his family, friends and everyone involved in MotoGP.”
@JensonButton

Mark Webber, F1 driver
“R.I.P Marco A special talent that will be missed… Thinking of your loved ones, and all the motogp paddock. mark.”
@AussieGrit

Scuderia Ferrari
“Ferrari offers condolences for the death of Simoncelli”
@InsideFerrari

Although the moment was never seen during the official television broadcast of the cancelled race, footage captured by a fan from the grandstand at the final corner – uploaded to video sharing website YouTube – clearly portrays marshals rushing the 24-year-old Italian towards an ambulance, only to drop the stretcher carrying him.

Stoner can wrap up his second MotoGP championship this weekend and gave himself the best possible chance to secure the title on his 26th birthday during the hour-long session. The Australian worked on set-up for the first 30 minutes before putting in a soft qualifying tyre and securing pole position with his best lap being 1m 29.975s.

Stoner believes there is still more to come from his RC212V and is keeping a cool head for tomorrow’s race. “So far so good, we have a good race pace and the bike’s feeling pretty good at the moment. We still need to improve the rear grip, but I think this is the same for everyone, we’d also like to get the harder rear tyre working better for the race,” said Stoner while continuing, “We began Qualifying with older tyres to understand where we are for the race and I’m quite happy as the lap times we were achieving were similar to Jorge and Dani who were on the new soft tyre. Then we put on the soft tyre for the first time since yesterday morning, everything felt good and we were able to improve our lap time consistently, but it’s still difficult on the left side of the tyre and we’re getting a lot of spinning and tyre degradation.

“We’ll see what the weather does tomorrow, it’s not looking too good right now but we’ll adapt to whatever it throws at us. Jorge is strong everywhere we go and I think my chances of taking the Championship here tomorrow is pretty slim to be honest, we’re just going to go out there and concentrate on winning the race,” The championship leader added.

Lorenzo was very happy with his best time of 1m 30.448s but admitted it is an uphill struggle to beat Stoner on his home track. “We did a very good job today. We tried many things and I believe we have the right set up for tomorrow. I have to thank my team who worked hard to make sure I have the best possible bike to fight with. The race will be very tough, it will be very important to be consistent with a good race pace. I will try to win, I know it will be very difficult here with Casey but I will try

Marco Simoncelli

Photo by: Team Gresini

Simoncelli managed to stay on his bike today following a number of falls during the practice sessions but a best lap of 1m 30.599s gave him his first front row start since Mugello. “I am really happy because it has been a while since we started on the front row. We have been fast over the past two days although we have had a few crashes too. The day didn’t start well because of the conditions, which were cold and windy, and that made it difficult. This afternoon we managed to do a better job and enjoyed an excellent qualifying session so my goal tomorrow is to push to the maximum from the start. Stoner looks untouchable at the moment but in racing you can never say never!” Simoncelli said.

Heading the second row following a stunning qualifying session is Alvaro Bautista who claimed 4th place for his Rizla Suzuki team after setting a best time of 1m 30.714s. Repsol Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso starts in 5th place tomorrow with his best lap of 1m 30.780s while in 6th place is Ducati Marlboro rider Nicky Hayden (1m 30.792s)

Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing) luckily walked away from a fall at over 100mph to get back on his spare bike to start tomorrow’s race in 7th place on a time of 1m 30.835s. Dani Pedrosa appeared to lose direction on his bike’s setup in the second half of the session and could only manage an 8th place start with a best lap of 1m 30.871s. Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards will start from 9th place on the grid with his best lap of 1m 31.237s.

Loris Capirossi (Pramac Racing) returns this weekend after being injured and was in the top 10 all session-long and starts tomorrow from 10th place (1m 31.583s) and his teammate Randy de Puniet sits one place behind him in 11th with a time of 1m 31.635s. Hiroshi Aoyama, who will race in World Superbikes next year, will start in 12th place tomorrow for his San Carlo Honda Gresini squad with a best lap of 1m 31.889s. Aoyama walked away from a heavy fall near the end of the session.

Valentino Rossi

Photo by: Ducati Corse

Lining up on the 5th row is seven-time MotoGP Champion Valentino Rossi (1m 31.980s) who can’t seem to go better than 13th place on his Ducati Marlboro GP11.1 with the Italian nursing an uncomfortable broken little finger from his crash in Motegi, Japan last time out. Starting just behind Rossi tomorrow will be Cal Crutchlow on his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1 with his best time of 1m 32.023s.

Karel Abraham Cardion AB Motoracing will start in 15th place with his best time of 1m 32.054s and the Czech rider was lucky to walk away from a crash near the end of the session. Toni Elias starts from 16th for his LCR Honda team with a best lap of 1m 32.503s and at the back of the grid is Australian Damian Cudlin who is filling in for Hector Barbera and the Mapfre Aspar squad. Cudlin had a big highside this morning in FP3 and although he was not within the 107% qualifying rule (1m 36.666s), he will be allowed to race tomorrow.

Valentino Rossi (Ducati MotoGP Team) 4th
“We’re pretty satisfied with this result because compared to practice, we made a big improvement in the race. It would have been nice had we found the right direction more quickly, but this is a new bike that we’re still learning to work with, so obviously it takes some experience to get it right. In the end, we managed to find a setup that allowed me to ride pretty well but, not having tried it before, I approached the first laps very carefully. To be honest, we were also a little unlucky, because the rain during the warm-up prevented us from trying the changes. Anyway, the weekend was positive overall, because we got confirmation that this bike is better in many ways, especially with regard to the rear end, which is now much more stable. On the other hand, we also know that we must keep working because we still have a gap to the competition to make up. It’s not as big as the time we lost today in terms of seconds, but it’s still there. Still, we’re all trying really hard, and we must continue to do so.”

Nicky Hayden (Ducati MotoGP Team) 5th
“Conditions have been all over the place all weekend, and the race wasn’t any different. We went out with a rain setup, but we saw that it was drying quickly and changed to a complete dry setup on the grid. There were a couple of little wet patches early on, but it was okay. We made a small change for the race, but nothing big. The first lap or two, the tyres heated up and I felt really good. Then I made a couple of early mistakes. I touched a white line and also pushed the front once and had to go straight at the chicane. Colin passed me, and then I managed to drag him back. I can’t celebrate fifth place too much, but it’s my best dry result of the year and puts us fifth in the points. Congratulations to Ben, who’s a fellow American. I wish it was me, but he and his team deserve it.”

Vittoriano Guareschi (Team Manager)
“I think we got a good team result today with both Vale and Nicky. With Valentino we went into the race with a different setup than what he used in practice, without being able to confirm it in the warm-up, which was made useless by the rain. It was a calculated risk for Valentino and the team, but it proved to be the right choice, as it paid off with a good result considering the problems in practice. Nicky also had a nice race, as it would have been really easy to make a mistake today. He’s doing a good job and working hard, as always, and he brought home some good points to put him fifth in the championship. We still have to work to improve because we want to take another step forward as soon as possible.”

Marco Simoncelli has been at the centre of the controversy, with several riders complaining about his aggressive overtaking, and Jorge Lorenzo taking him to task over it in front of the media at Estoril a fortnight ago.

But Rossi said that while the riders were entitled to their opinions, he did not see any way in which the safety commission or FIM could stipulate how riders tried to overtake each other.

“I understand if the riders come to the safety commission to make a personal attack on Simoncelli,” he said. “If [Andrea] Dovizioso came to the safety commission and said ‘for me, Simoncelli is too dangerous, because of this and because of that’, okay this is one way.

“But I don’t understand in which way you can make the rules for overtaking in motorcycle racing. It’s very difficult – you can just pass on the straight, or just on the right, or left, or you have to put an arrow out… It’s something very, very stupid.”

He also criticised coverage of the recent discussions over minimum weights in the safety commission, amid suggestions that Rossi had pushed for a change in the rules to reduce the advantage smaller riders like Dani Pedrosa are alleged to get under the current regulation in which bikes are weighed separately from their riders.

“I heard some stupid polemics about the safety commission, and I heard from some journalists that the safety commission is an Italian mafia. This is very stupid,” said Rossi.

“In the safety commission we work mainly on the safety of the tracks. This is because it was formed in 2003 after Daijiro [Kato] died. I think it is very positive, because people listen to us. In Formula 1 the drivers don’t speak. If [Fernando] Alonso says something, they say ‘hey, shut up’.

“We always work for the other riders, we do a good job on the tracks. Other than that, we speak with Bridgestone about the tyres – more choice and better solutions for the riders.

“We never speak about changing the rules. Let me hear one thing that has come out of the safety commission that is an advantage for Italian riders or Valentino Rossi…?

“We spoke about the weight in Jerez, but because Dorna said to us ‘why does Honda gain half a second on the straight’. I explained to them, but I didn’t write to the safety commission and say ‘hey, we have to change the weights because my weight is more than [Casey] Stoner’s…’

“What I read in the newspapers is wrong. We didn’t say we needed more weight on the light riders. We said with 21 litres [fuel limit], the disadvantage for the heavy riders is bigger. Just that. But change the rules? No.”

Valentino Rossi, who also started from the fourth row, mounted an extraordinary charge. Fast and determined, he advanced from twelfth to second position in the space of just seven laps. Unfortunately, he had a fall following an error in the first turn of the eighth lap, involving the innocent Casey Stoner in the incident.

Rejoining the race in second-to-last place, with a big gap to the next rider, Rossi didn’t give up and gave everything he had, charging all the way to fifth place at the finish.

Nicky Hayden (Ducati MotoGP Team) 3rd
“That wasn’t necessarily a pretty win because my last laps were so slow when the tires were worn, but we’re on the podium, and I’m pretty happy about it! In the beginning, our bike was really good because I had a lot of traction. After a while, it was all about focus, and there was no room for error. The track was changing every corner, because there was rain in some parts and no rain in other parts. Also, the tyres and the lines kept changing. It certainly hasn’t been an easy start to the season, so we’ll take success any way we can get it. Big thanks to the team. Hopefully we can try to build on this, and it will be the little shot in the arm to help get us going. I know Ducati’s not sleeping. They’ve got some work to do, but I think our bike is better than we’ve been showing. We’ve just been missing a little bit, but I’m confident we can still recover and have a good season.”

Valentino Rossi (Ducati MotoGP Team) 5th
“Today in the wet we had a great chance for me to make my first podium with Ducati, or even to get my first win. I felt good, both with the bike and my shoulder, because I could brake where I wanted to rather than where I’m forced to in the dry, since I still don’t have the necessary strength. The bike is very fast in the wet. I was advancing really well, and I’m sorry to have made that mistake and thrown away such an opportunity. While braking for the first corner, I entered a bit long, and although I tried to stay to the inside, I lost the front and couldn’t stay up. I’m sorry, because I also took out Stoner, and I certainly didn’t want to do that. I apologized to him, and I’m truly sorry; it was a mistake. It’s a shame because we really could have gotten some satisfaction, but we’ll keep trying. We’re still not so fast in the dry, but we’re working hard. Anyway today’s fifth place gave us eleven points that are very important in the championship.”

Vittoriano Guareschi (Team Manager)
“We’re very happy because we got our first podium of the season with Nicky, and we saw Valentino riding really well. It’s a shame about the crash because he would have fought for the win, and obviously, we’re also very sorry that Casey was involved. Vale was able to get going again, and he had a great race. He didn’t give up, and he managed an excellent fifth place. Nicky was very good at handling a difficult situation over the last ten laps when the tyres were finished and it would have been easy to throw it all away. The team worked very well. We found a good setup for the wet during the warm-up, and we had an excellent team result.”

Team-mate Dani Pedrosa claimed second from Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo on his final lap.

Valentino Rossi, Hiroshi Aoyama, Ben Spies, Colin Edwards, Karel Abraham and Randy de Puniet all suffered lowside falls during the hour.

1. Casey Stoner AUS Repsol Honda Team 1m 38.757s
2. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team 1m 38.915s
3. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Yamaha Factory Racing 1m 38.918s
4. Ben Spies USA Yamaha Factory Racing 1m 39.390s
5. Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m 39.486s
6. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 1m 39.709s
7. Randy de Puniet FRA Pramac Racing Team 1m 39.892s
8. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1m 39.895s
9. Cal Crutchlow GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1m 40.019s
10. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m 40.168s
11. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team 1m 40.175s
12. Valentino Rossi ITA Ducati Marlboro Team 1m 40.185s
13. Hector Barbera ESP Mapfre Aspar Team 1m 40.217s
14. John Hopkins USA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1m 40.310s
15. Loris Capirossi ITA Pramac Racing Team 1m 40.523s
16. Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing 1m 40.601s
17. Toni Elias ESP LCR Honda MotoGP 1m 41.114s

Fastest practice time:
Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda 1m 38.864s (FP3)

2010 Spanish Grand Prix (May 2):
Pole position:
Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda 1m 39.202s
Fastest race lap:
Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda 1m 39.731s (record)