The week in numbers: w/e 23/10/11

Simoncelli died in a crash at the Malaysia MotoGP on Sunday (image courtesy of Wikipedia)

24 – Age of Italian MotoGP rider Marco Simoncelli, who died after a crash at the Malaysian MotoGP in Sepang. He competed in 34 MotoGP races for Honda, setting two poles and recording two podium finishes. It was the first fatality in MotoGP since Japan’s Daijiro Katoh died after a crash at the 2003 Japanese GP, while last year Japan’s Shoya Tomizawa died in a Moto2 race in San Marino.

7 – Britain’s track cycling team dominated the European Track Championships in Apeldoorn, Holland, winning seven gold medals in the 13 events. No other country won more than one gold. They won the men’s keirin (Matt Crampton), omnium (Ed Clancy) and team pursuit, and the women’s keirin (Victoria Pendleton), omnium (Laura Trott), team sprint and team pursuit.

1 – At the halfway point of the group phase in the Champions League only Real Madrid still have a 100% record, although ten out of the 32 teams remain unbeaten.