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Update on the Superprestigio: December 13th – Marquez (x2), Rabat, Baker, Mees, & Many Others – But No Hayden

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After the resounding success of the Superprestigio indoor dirt track event back in January this year, the race is to return. On December 13th, the Sant Jordi stadium on Montjuic, the hill south of Barcelona, will host the second running of the Superprestigio, featuring the cream of motorcycle road racing taking on some of superstars of American flat track racing.

Reigning Superprestigio champion Brad Baker will be back in Barcelona once again, to defend the honor gained back in January. He will be joined by reigning AMA flat track Grand National champion Jared Mees, the two Americans defending the reputation of the home of dirt track, and the country the sport originated in its current form.

They will have their work cut out for them: they will face some the best circuit racers in the world, with reigning and former champions taking to the short indoor oval. All three Grand Prix champions – Marc Marquez, Tito Rabat, and Alex Marquez – will be lining up in Barcelona, the three avid practitioners of the art.

They will be joined by legendary former World Superbike champion Troy Bayliss, now spending his retirement racing dirt track and running his own invitational dirt track event, the Troy Bayliss Classic, which will run on January 17th next year. Another world champion will also be taking to the dirt, with Supermoto S1 world champ Thomas Chareyre also joining the fray.

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Racing

Next Superprestigio Dirt Track Event Announced

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If you’re like us, you really enjoyed the Superprestigio Dirt Track event from the beginning of this year. A clash between some of the best road racing and flat trackers in the world, the final showdown race between MotoGP’s Marc Marquez and AMA’s Brad Baker proved to be full of excitement, and the promoters, DTX Barcelona, made the race easy to follow for those outside of Spain – win/win.

Building upon the event’s rich history from three decades ago, the Superprestigio is under a revival. Set for another year of competition, DTX Barcelona has announced the next running of the Superprestigio, which will take place December 13, 2014 at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona.

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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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Dirt

How To Watch the Superprestigio Dirt Track Event Live

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So you live in the US, have heard about the awesome Superprestigio indoor dirt track race in Barcelona, and you want to watch Marc Marquez, Alvaro Bautista, Maverick Vinales, and Brad Baker go at it, but don’t know how?

Never fear, Cycle World has sprung into the breach and pulled a rabbit out of the hat. The event will be streamed on the Cycle World website, from 9am Pacific. You can find a link to the stream here. 

Tip of the hat to Mark Gardiner of Motorcycle USA, for persuading Brad Baker to fly across the Atlantic to take on the challenge.

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Racing

Countdown to the Superprestigio: Marc Marquez Goes Training with Brad “The Bullet” Baker

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Normally, motorcycle racing fans face a long and empty wait between the last tests in November and the first tests in late January and early February. Fortunately, this year, it’s different, thanks to the revival of the Superprestigio brand by Jaime Alguersuari, father of the Formula One driver of the same name, and founder of Spanish magazine Solomoto.

Alguersuari has pulled off a massive coup by getting 2013 MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez involved, and getting him to front the race. On Saturday, 11th January, some of the best riders in the world will race on an indoor dirt track oval at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona’s Olympic Park.

The Superprestigio was always a chance for the best American riders to test themselves against the top Spanish riders, and Alguersuari has arranged for this to happen again.

With Marquez already involved, AMA flat track champion Brad ‘The Bullet’ Baker responded to a challenge from American writer Mark Gardiner on Twitter, and has traveled to Barcelona to race at the event.

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Clash of the Champions: Flat Track and GP Stars Will Race at Superprestigio Flat Track Event

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A new chapter is to be written in the long and illustrious history of motorcycle racing on Montjuic, the hill that borders the south side of Barcelona. On January 11th, a selection of Grand Prix racers, including all three world champions Marc Marquez, Pol Espargaro and Maverick Viñales, are to compete in the Superprestigio dirt track event to be held at the Palau Sant Jordi on Montjuic. The event is to be broadcast on Spanish TV

The race is to be held on single cylinder four-stroke flat trackers, raced around a 200 meter dirt oval inside the former Olympic indoor arena. Entry is by invitation only, and racing will take place in three separate classes: the Junior category, for riders under 18; the Open category, for experienced riders from around the globe racing in national championships; and the Superprestigio category, for riders currently competing in the MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 classes. At the end of the evening, a run off is to be held between the four best racers in the Open category and the four best from the Superprestigio category.

The entry list for both categories is impressive. The Superprestigio category will see Marc Marquez, Pol and Aleix Espargaro, Maverick Viñales, Bradley Smith, Alvaro Bautista, Julian Simon, Jonas Folger, Moto3 teammates Alex Marquez and Alex Rins, Hector Barbera, Tito Rabat, Johann Zarco, Niklas Ajo, Jordi Torres, Lorenzo Baldassari and Ricky Cardus race against one another. Nicky Hayden was also invited, but as he has just had wrist surgery, wisely but regretfully decided to pass on the event.

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