Mark Chiodo
Mark Chiodo tragically lost his life over the weekend in a heartbreaking accident while skylarking on a friend’s balcony in Melbourne.
There’s no need to dwell here on the exact circumstances — only to say it was a tragic accident, with no foul play involved and no intention on Mark’s part to harm himself.
He was just 27 years old, with so much life still ahead of him.
Mark made his racetrack debut in 2014 at a club meeting, riding for some fun alongside his father John at local club races on an Aprilia RS250 at just 16 years of age.
They found racing together a great bonding experience.
Despite being born into the dynastic giants of the motorcycle industry, that is the Chiodo family, racing wasn’t Mark’s first calling. His first love was football.
However, his dalliances on the two-stroke Aprilia were enough to light another fire and in 2015, Mark stepped up to the Supersport category and then also spent plenty of time on Superbikes over the ensuing years, where he remained a consistent presence in the ASBK paddock over the next decade.
Mark’s larger than life presence will be missed inside the ASBK paddock, but that loss is nothing compared to the grief that has stricken his immediate family, especially his father John, his mother Jane and his brother Anthony, to whom we have offered our heartfelt condolences.
Mark’s body has now been released by the coroner and funeral details will follow in due course.
