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Episode 43 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out, and the show covers this past weekend’s Superprestigio flat track race in Barcelona.

Talking about the Superprestigio and flat track racing in general, Neil MorrisonSteve English, and David Emmett are joined by American freelance motorcycle journalist and photographer Andrea Wilson, who brings her unique insight into the sport of to the podcast.

The show covers first the action-packed day in Spain, where some of the biggest names from multiple two-wheeled racing disciplines competed for the ultimate in bragging rights.

After analyzing Marc Marquez’s victory over Brad Baker, the show takes a turn to talk about flat track racing in the United States, and the changes that the American Flat Track series is seeing for the 2017 season.

Packed with insight, we think you will enjoy this special episode immensely.

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Marc Marquez has taken revenge at the event he helped to create, winning the 2016 edition of the Superprestigio in dominant style. The 2016 MotoGP champion had dominated the qualifying heats, and chose the inside gate to start from.

Though he dropped behind the excellent French Supermoto champion Tom Chareyre off the line, he entered the first corner in good position, with AMA star Brad Baker tight on his tail. The pair quickly slid through to take the lead.

In previous years, Baker was capable of taking the fight to Marquez and beating the Spaniard, but this time, Baker struggled. Marquez quickly built up a lead that would not be challenged.

Baker, meanwhile, had trouble behind him, with Toni Elias sliding inside him to take second, leaving Baker to battle with Chareyre for the final podium spot.

Chareyre tried one hard move on up the inside with a couple of laps to go, but Baker kept the door closed, and Chareyre went down after hitting the inside of Baker’s Honda. A disappointed Baker crossed the line to take third. 

Not in Barcelona this weekend and wondering how you can watch Marc Marquez and Brad Baker bang bars together at the 2016 Superprestigio? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered…or we should say that the folks at American Flat Track have you covered.

Once again hosting a live stream of the flat track series, American racing fans will be able to watch this year’s Superprestigio via the internet, on FansChoice.tv.

The feed is totally free thanks to work between DMG and RPM-MKTG, the Spanish promoter of the Superprestigio. The feed will begin streaming at 1200 EST (0900 PST) through 1530 EST (12300 PST).

Christmas is in the air (regardless of David Emmett’s protestations) and that means one unfortunate fact; the racing season is almost finished. We’re drawing towards the longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, but thankfully there is a bright light in the sky to guide us.

It’s not a star leading to a manger, where a new born baby lies in wait to save us all, but rather one last event of the racing calendar. Flat Track takes center stage this weekend and the Superprestigio in Barcelona has quickly become one of the most anticipated events of the year. 

Rebirthed in 2014, the event has grown in popularity, and on Saturday night we will once again see Brad Baker take on the best that Europe has to offer. The American is a former AMA Pro Flat Track champion, and generally regarded as one of the biggest talents to come out of the US series in years.

Baker and Marc Marquez were born a day apart in February 1993, and both have captivated their relative championships in recent years and gained reputations for their bravery and spectacular styles. This is the one weekend a year where they battle for supremacy on track together.

The Barcelona Superprestigio has proven to be a popular staple of the winter break. The indoor flat track race, which takes place at the Palau Sant Jordi, is returning for its fourth edition on December 17th.

Once again, the stars of the MotoGP, World Superbikes and Endurance will take on the cream of dirt track and off-road disciplines. Former winners Marc Marquez and Brad Baker face off for the fourth time.

The event follows the formula which has been so successful in the past. The field is divided into two classes: the Superprestigio class, which features some of the best asphalt riders in the world; and the Open class, in which the best of the off-road world will compete.

A few months ago, this pocket-sized street tracker caught my attention on Facebook. It was based off the BMW G310R street bike platform, that much I could tell, but I couldn’t find anymore information on the machine.

A few more weeks of this lonesome photo sitting in my ‘to do” box, and it finally moved on to the place where all good stories go to die.

So, imagine my surprise when our friends at BMW Motorrad Japan sent me the following photos, which depict a new custom bike they commissioned from Takashi Nihira, at Tokyo’s Wedge Motorcycles.

It is the same bike I saw months earlier, but now we know who to thank for its creation, as well as a little bit more about its build. Its is quite impressive, for an unassuming “little” street tracker, don’t you think?

The 2017 calendar for the newly rebranded American Flat Track racing series has been released. The 18-round schedule traverses the USA, with four different race track varieties: (6) mile-long tracks, (7) half-mile track, (2) short-track courses, and (3) TT type courses.

2017 also sees American Flat Track using a new class structure, with the premier class is the AFT Twins class, comprised of two-cylinder motorcycles with displacements ranging from 650cc to 999cc. There will also be an AFT Singles class for upcoming riders, which will be based on 450cc single-cylinder bikes.

With plenty of opportunities through the year, and through out the country, we supremely suggest you attend an American Flat Track round this coming season. We think you will find it highly satisfying to your two-wheeled inclinations.

The American Flat Track aesthetic is catching hold over in Europe. We can see evidence of such by the popularity of flat track racing for Europe’s top MotoGP athletes, the rise of the Spanish Superprestigio event in Barcelona, and with the concepts we are seeing come from the European divisions of motorcycle OEMs.

Add the Honda CB1100 TR concept to that pile of evidence, as it is one of two motorcycle concepts that Honda Motor Europe is debuting at the 2016 EICMA show (the other being the very tasty Honda Africa Twin Enduro Sports concept).

Built off the Honda CB1100 street bike, the Honda CB1100 TR concept takes a motorcycle we otherwise would not be terribly interested in riding, and gives it a healthy dosage of sex appeal.

Go-fast parts come from Öhlins and Termignoni, with the #58 numberplate honoring the memory of Marco Simoncelli, who passed away five years ago, and whose passing is still deeply felt in Italy.

Indian Motorcycles is getting into a flat track racing in a big way. We have already seen the American brand’s purpose-built race bike, the Indian Scout FTR750, which looks quite the business with its purpose-built 750cc v-twin race engine.

Now, we get word that Indian will have an all-star team of riders competing on the  Indian Scout FTR750, with Bryan Smith, Brad Baker, and Jared Mees lined up to be Indian’s new three-man “wrecking crew” on the race track.