Sic58 Squadra Corse is an Italian

motorcycle racing Motorcycle racing (also called moto racing and motorbike racing) is the motorcycle sport of racing motorcycles. Major varieties include motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. Ot ...

team founded by Paolo Simoncelli in honour of his son,

Marco Simoncelli Marco Simoncelli (; 20 January 198723 October 2011), nicknamed Sic (), was an Italian professional motorcycle racer. He competed in the MotoGP World Championship for 10 years from 2002 to 2011. He started in the 125cc class before moving up to ...

(1987–2011). The team competes in the Moto3 World Championship and

MotoE World Cup The FIM Enel MotoE World Championship (formerly known as the MotoE World Cup) is a class of motorcycle racing that uses only electric motorcycles. The series is sanctioned by the FIM and the inaugural season in 2019 was due to support MotoG ...

under the name Ongetta Sic58 Squadracorse, and the

FIM FIM may refer to: Organizations and companies * Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, the International Motorcycling Federation * Flint Institute of Music, in Michigan, United States * Fox Interactive Media, now News Corp. Digital Media * ...

CEV

Repsol Repsol S.A.
El Nuevo Herald, 2012-05-31Originally an init ...

Moto3 Junior World Championship and European Talent Cup.

History

The team was formed by Paolo Simoncelli in 2013 after the death of his son,

MotoGP Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start ...

rider

, at the

2011 Malaysian Grand Prix The 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix (formally the 2011 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 10 April 2011 at the Sepang International Circuit in Selangor, Malaysia. It was the second round of the 2011 Formula O ...

. The team name Sic58 Squadra Corse (English: ''Sic58 Racing Team'') is a reference to Marco's

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

''"Super Sic"'' or simply ''"Sic"'' and his former racing number 58, which was retired from use in the MotoGP class following his death. The formation of the team was also supported by compatriot

Fausto Gresini Fausto Gresini (23 January 1961 – 23 February 2021) was an Italian Grand Prix motorcycle racer, who was World Champion in 1985 and 1987. He was in his later years team manager for the Aprilia Racing Team Gresini MotoGP team. Motorcycle racin ...

, who had been Simoncelli's team boss at the time of his death. The intention of the Sic58 team is to promote the careers of young Italian motorcycle racers. The team originally entered the FIM CIV Moto3 Junior Championship in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Simoncelli quickly realized that in order for his riders to get to the World Championship level, they would need to prove themselves in the more competitive and better-organized Spanish

CEV

Repsol Repsol S.A.
El Nuevo Herald, 2012-05-31Originally an init ...

Moto3 Junior World Championship, so the team began competing in that series in 2015. Sic58 achieved their first taste of international success with a win from Italian rider

Tony Arbolino Tony Arbolino (born 3 August 2000) is an Italian motorcycle racer. Career Moto3 World Championship Sic58 Squadra Corse (2017) He was signed up to race in the Moto3 World Championship for the SIC58 Squadra Corse team for 2017. He scored two poi ...

at the second race in the 2016 CEV round in Jerez. The team also enters riders in the European Talent Cup, a support series of FIM CEV Repsol. In

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, Sic58 entered the Moto3 World Championship with existing team rider

partnered with new signing

Tatsuki Suzuki is a Japanese Grand Prix motorcycle racer, competing in Moto3 for Leopard Racing. Career Moto3 World Championship Mahindra CIP (2015) Suzuki made his Grand Prix debut in the 2015 Moto3 World Championship with CIP, riding a Mahindra alongside ...

, a Japanese rider with previous Moto3 World Championship experience. The team had a difficult start. Arbolino achieved only a single points finish, finishing 34th in the riders' standings. Suzuki achieved points finishes in all races he completed, including a best finish of 4th, but 7 retirements limited him to 71 points and 14th position in the riders' standings. For

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, Arbolino was replaced by compatriot

Niccolò Antonelli Niccolò Antonelli (born 23 February 1996) is an Italian Grand Prix motorcycle racing, Grand Prix motorcycle racer, who most recently competed in the 2022 Moto2 World Championship, riding for Sky Racing Team VR46, Mooney VR46 Racing Team. Antonel ...

coming from the Red Bull KTM Ajo team. The season was only a slight improvement over 2017, with both Suzuki and Antonelli repeating the former's 71 points and finishing 14th and 15th in the riders' standings respectively. The team finished 7th of 16 teams, with 2018 being the first year a Moto3 teams' championship was counted. In

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, Sic58 achieved their first success on the world stage with a 1-2 finish from Antonelli and Suzuki. The win occurred in the fourth round of the championship at

Jerez Jerez de la Frontera (), or simply Jerez (), is a Spanish city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, located midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Cádiz Mountains. , the c ...

, coincidentally the same location of Marco Simoncelli's maiden World Championship victory in the former 125 cc class, leading to an emotional celebration from the team. Suzuki repeated success for the team with a win in

San Marino San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...

. The remainder of the season was however plagued by multiple injuries for Antonelli, and 8 retirements for Suzuki, limiting both riders to 7th and 8th in the riders' standings respectively, and the team to 2nd in the team standings. The team was additionally granted a slot in the inaugural 2019 season of the

, achieving one 3rd place podium finish at the San Marino round.

Results

;Notes * Season still in progress.

References

External links

* {{official website, https://www.sic58squadracorse.it/en/ Motorcycle racing teams Motorcycle racing teams established in 2013 2013 establishments in Italy