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2014 Superprestigio

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Trackside Tuesday: You Can’t Keep a Good Woman Down

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Shayna Texter Superprestigio

Shayna Texter Superprestigio

While Marc Marquez, Brad Baker, and Jared Mees grabbed most of the attention at this past weekend’s in Barcelona, each of the other forty-five racers has his, or her, own story for the two-day event.

Scott Redding had high hopes of a strong performance, but crashed heavily and tore a muscle in his chest. Guy Martin, with 17 Isle of Man TT podiums and many victories on the Irish roads circuits, never looked at ease on Barcelona’s tiny dirt oval. Moto2 champ Tito Rabat didn’t see his experience or recent practice pay off with a good result.

The greatest disappointment probably goes to Baker, whose crash and resulting concussion and dislocated shoulder forced him to retire from competition, and miss his chance to defend his title. The story of Superprestigio’s unrealized hopes has many characters.

When the story reaches Shayna Texter, the plot takes a unique turn. Miss Texter is the five-foot-tall, 95-pound flat tracker from Willow Street, Pennsylvania, and the only female racer to participate in the Superprestigio competition.

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MotoGP

Watch: Marquez vs. Mees at the Superprestigio Superfinal

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With last year’s Superprestigio winner Brad Baker suffering a concussion to the head during qualifying, the hopes of American race fans in Barcelona rested squarely on the shoulders of 2014 AMA Pro Flat Track Champion Jared Mees.

The 28-year-old Mees faced a tough entry though, as some of the great names from a bevy of motorcycling disciplines had entered this year’s event — especially last year’s runner-up, a certain Marc Marquez.

As expected, the 12-lap Superfinal race was hotly contested, and featured some good handlebar-bashing action. Thankfully the riders had plenty of on-board cameras with them, and the promoter DTX Barcelona is savvy when it comes to letting participants and media sharing that footage.

As such, we have the battle for the top podium spot, for you, straight from the perspective of America’s top entry. Enjoy!

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MotoGP

MotoGP Notes from the Superprestigio Event

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With so many MotoGP regulars either racing in or attending the Superprestigio in Barcelona, it was inevitable that a fair amount of gossip and rumor would end up circulating.

It was the first chance for some of the media to talk to riders who had been testing down in Southern Spain, while the presence of Ducati’s MotoGP bosses Paolo Ciabatti and Davide Tardozzi, attending as guests of Troy Bayliss, added real weight to the debate.

I spoke briefly to Ciabatti on Saturday, asking about progress with the Ducati Desmosedici GP15 and how Michelin testing had gone. Ciabatti was optimistic about the GP15, but confirmed that it was still not certain exactly when the bike would make its first appearance on track.

It may not be ready for the first Sepang test in February, with the second Sepang a more likely place for the bike to be rolled out.

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Racing

Race Results from the Superprestigio Superfinal

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Marc Marquez has ended the year on a win, beating the reigning AMA Flat Track champion Jared Mees in a thrilling final. The two men got caught up in traffic when Thomas Chareyre, who got the jump at the start, forced them wide.

That gave the lead to Kenny Noyes and Gerard Ribalta, but Marquez and Mees soon chased the two down, passing Bailo with ease, Noyes with difficulty. Marquez had gained enough of a cushion to keep Mees at bay, finally getting revenge for his loss to Brad Baker in January this year, at the inaugural event.

Noyes went on to score a respectable 3rd, ahead of Bailo and Ribalta. The 16-year-old British rider Oliver Brindley gave an outstanding account of himself, finishing in 6th, ahead of Bradley Smith, who got caught up in the first lap incident, and Chareyre, who caused it.

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Racing

How To Watch The Superprestigio Race Tomorrow

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Saturday night is the last chance to see the stars of motorcycle racing turning a wheel in anger.

On 13th December, the cream of both the MotoGP and AMA flat track paddocks meet for the second running of the Superprestigio, an indoor invitation dirt track race, at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona.

The setting is a classic location: the Palau Sant Jordi is part of the former Olympic park, set atop Montjuic, scene of many legendary motorcycle races of the past.

For those who could not make it to Barcelona themselves, they need not despair. The event is to be broadcast in several countries around the globe, as well as streamed live online.

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Dirt

Video of the 2014 Superprestigio Races

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Did you miss yesterday’s Superprestigio dirt track races? Did you miss Brad “The Bullet” Baker put the smack down on Marc Marquez? Did you miss a venerable list of some of the best road racers in the world mixing it up on the dirt during their off-season? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

Thankfully the promoters of the Superprestigio event, DTX Barcelona, really get this whole internet thing. Not only did they make sure the races were live on Spanish TV, but they made a live stream available so those outside of the region could see the event on Saturday.

Thanks to an intrepid motorsport enthusiast, now we have the entire day’s event on YouTube, just in case you had something too important to do on Saturday than to watch the race. Enjoy a short video with just the final race and another video with the whole day’s event as well.

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Dirt

Superprestigio Dirt Track Race Results – Brad Baker Wins as Marc Marquez Crashes Out

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Brad Baker walked away as winner of the Superprestigio flat track race at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona on Saturday night. After a hectic evening’s racing in front of a wildly enthusiastic crowd, Baker shook off a challenge from Marc Marquez to take a comfortable win, adding the Superprestigio final win to the win in his Open category.

The event saw riders compete in two categories, the Open class, containing the cream of European flat track racers – still an almost entirely amateur sport – and AMA Grand National champion Brad ‘The Bullet’ Baker, and the Superprestigio class, consisting of current and former Grand Prix and World Supersport riders.

Baker blasted through his heats with ease, winning the Open final almost completely unchallenged, and qualifying for the Superfinal, between the top four in the Open class and the top four from the Superprestigio class.

Marc Marquez had dominated most of the Superprestigio races, the four-race final format allowing the 2013 MotoGP champion to make a couple of mistakes along the way. He ended up winning the Superprestigio final, passing into the Superfinal with Tito Rabat, Kenny Noyes and Aleix Espargaro.

The Superfinal had been billed from the beginning as a battle between Marc Marquez and AMA Grand National Champion Brad Baker, and that is exactly what ensued.

The contrasting styles of the two men made for a fascinating duel, but the more ragged style of Marquez meant that in the end, he came off worst. Marquez leaned on Baker as he passed underneath, and Marquez found himself crashing out.

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