One of the silliest rumors spread by the often-vicious Italian media during the offseason was a spat between Valentino Rossi and the family of Marco Simoncelli. Rossi and Super Sic were close friends, and Rossi was by the family's side during Simoncelli's funeral last October.

That rumored rift hopefully can be ended after Rossi appeared last week in Italy at the celebration honoring the late Simoncelli's 25th birthday. Vale shared a hug with Simoncelli's father, Paolo, further drenching any stories of a feud.

"Marco was famous for his ironic sense of humor, so it's only right that this celebration had that feel to it," Rossi said. "It was a moving and emotional night. First, we laughed so hard we cried, and then we just plain cried. It was the best way to honor him. It would be nice to have a celebration like this every year."

A video clip was shown during the ceremony of a young Marco Simoncelli telling his father he wanted to win on a motorcycle like l'orso, which means "the bear" in Italian. But Rossi guessed Super Sic meant to tell his father he wanted to win like Lawson, as Paolo Simoncelli was a huge fan of American MotoGP god Eddie Lawson.