Doriano Romboni, a 44-year-old former motorcycle racer, died Saturday in Italy while practicing for an upcoming event. Romboni was training for the second annual “Sic Supermoto Day” in Italy to honor another competitive rider, former MotoGP racer Marco Simoncelli.

According to witnesses, Romboni was hit by another rider on the track at the Italian Latina circuit, about 43 miles southeast of Rome. He was airlifted to Santa Maria Goretti hospital, where he reportedly died soon after arriving, according to Italian News Agency ANSA.

Romboni was a six-time Grand Prix champion in the 125 and 250 classes, from 1990 to 1995. He also raced as a World Superbike road racer. For the past three years, the father of three had been acting as the director of the Puccetti Racing Kawasaki team.

The racing event was halted Saturday after Romboni died, but Marco Simoncelli’s father, Paulo, reported on Max Biaggi’s Twitter feed that the event will now resume tomorrow to help support Romboni’s family.

Main image courtesy @FORZAVR via Twitter.