Massive head trauma killed Italian rider Marco Simoncelli after his helmet came off in a fatal crash Sunday at the Malaysian MotoGP motorcycle race. He was 24.MotoGP Race Direction Medical Director Michele Macchiagodena explained in a press conference how Simoncelli died in the race.

"Because of the crash he had during the race, in which he was hit by other riders, he suffered a very serious trauma to the head, to the neck and the chest," Macchiagodena said.

Simoncelli's bike crashed onto Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi during the 2011 Malaysian GP at the Sepang International Circuit.

"CPR was continued for 45 minutes because we tried to help him for as long as we thought it was possible. Unfortunately it was not possible to help him and at 16:56 (local time) we had to declare he was dead," Macchiagodena explained further.

Simoncelli's bike was in fourth place during the lap before the crash. His helmet came off upon collision impact.

The death is the first fatality in MotoGP since Japan's Daijiro Katoh died from injuries sustained at the 2003 Japanese GP.

ESPN reported Simoncelli developed a passion for motorcycle racing at a very young age, getting hooked on Minibike Championships when he was only 7 years old.

Simoncelli's death is notably only a week apart from the passing of Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon, who died in the IndyCar finale at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.