Brad Baker has won the third edition of the Barcelona Superprestigio, holding off a strong challenge from Marc Marquez to take his second victory in the event. Jared Mees, who got boxed in at the start, took a comfortable third.
The first sessions of practice for the Barcelona Superprestigio event took place on Friday evening, and the man behind the event is fastest, as might be expected.
Marc Marquez posted a lap of 11.797 during his second run on the track, ahead of Toni Elias, with an 11.8. Jared Mees and Brad Baker were the fastest of the Open riders, for off road and dirt track specialists, both posting times in the 11.9 bracket.
Headline times are not the full story, however, with Marquez’s times less consistent than the two Americans. Brad Baker was particularly impressive, posting a long strings of 11.9s, showing he has good race pace.
This year marks the third time that road racers and flat track racers will meet in Barcelona for the revived Superprestigio event.
The short-track format dirt track race is a welcomed addition to the doldrums of the winter off-season, and it features international names like Marc Marquez, Toni Elias, Jared Mees, Brad Baker, and many others (see the entry lists, after the jump).
DTX Barcelona, the promoter of the event, has been very forward-thinking its approach to the Superprestigio, and as such we have been blessed with a quality live stream each year, the 2015 Superprestigio being no different.
FansChoice.tv will host the live stream, which will begin with the opening ceremonies on Saturday, at 9am PDT. For a full schedule of the day’s events, check here. Be sure to tune in, it should be a fun event for the off-season.
The Barcelona Superprestigio race is becoming a regular fixture in the winter break, and this year is no exception. The third edition of the race is due to take place on December 12th in the Palau Sant Jordi, part of Barcelona’s Olympic Ring up on the Montjuic hill which sits on southwest edge of Barcelona.
Once again, the feature will pit some of the best MotoGP riders in the world against the cream of the US flat track scene, as well as top riders from many other motorcycling disciplines.
Star of the show is once again Marc Marquez, the man who helped organize the show after hearing about previous editions of the race which had been run in the 1980s and 1990s.
The 2016 Hypermotard family, which include the Hypermotard, Hypermotard SP, and Hyperstrada gets a displacement increase to 937cc, but we knew that already from CARB documents earlier this year.
Now we know that the plus-sized supermoto model will make 113hp (+3 hp from previous) from its Euro4 compliant engine, which also comes with a 10% torque increase (+7 lbs•ft of torque).
The styling is obviously the same, as you can see from the photos after the jump, though there are some subtle changes to the turn signals and handguards, that may look familiar if you’ve perused the Ducati Performance catalog recently.
Maybe it’s because my supermoto season officially ended this weekend (without me, I should add), with our last scheduled sumo session at the go-kart track here in Portland passing by this weekend, or maybe it’s because we just want the Swedish brand to deliver the Husqvarna 701 Supermoto already…either way, consider our appetite whetted by this last video from Husky.
Finally giving us a showing of the 701 Supermoto on a proper race track — not that the ice course with spiked tires wasn’t cool (no pun intended) — we get to see the 701 at home in its natural element: hitting apexes, sliding tires, and crushing lean angles.
We imagine that the nearly as powerful, and considerably lighter Husqvarna FS 450 supermoto would be the better weapon on the track, but the 690cc power plant on the Husqvarna 701 Supermoto is certainly the better choice for a machine that will roll a tire on public roads…and that’s sorta the point of the machine.
We’ll be eager to see this Husqvarna hit showrooms in Europe this November, and thus being the long wait for it to come to the USA in February 2016. Could the Husqvarna 701 Supermoto be the ultimate city hooligan bike? Time will tell…we’re certainly eager to find out, though.
In addition to the 2016 Ducati 959 Panigale, Ducati is set to update the Hypermotard line, according to documents filed with the California Air Resources Board.
The filing shows three new Hypers: the base model Hypermotard 939, the up-spec Hypermotard 939 SP, and the touring-oriented Hyperstrada 939.
Unfortunately the CARB filings don’t tell us too much about the machines, other than their emissions are lower (thanks to Euro 4 compliance), and that all three street bikes will use a 937cc engine and a six-speed gearbox.
It seems our hopes have been answered, as the Husqvarna 701 Supermoto has been confirmed for the US market, for the 2016 model year. We already knew that the 701 would be available in Europe, starting in November 2015, but word for other markets was non-existent.
Now clarifying things, Husqvarna has confirmed that the Husqvarna 701 Supermoto will be at dealerships in the USA, as well as other markets, start in February 2016. Yes, that means you too can now own a KTM 690 SMC R, dressed in blue and white.
The Husqvarna brand will continue with its FS 450 offering for the 2016 model year, though you would be wrong to confuse the 2016 bike with its predecessor.
Trimming the fat off the 2015 model, it is clear that Husqvarna looked for ways to make the FS 450 even lighter than before, for 2016, and the Swedish brand look successful in that endeavor, with a 232 lbs machine (sans fuel).
To hit that target weight and other benchmarks, the 2016 Husqvarna FS 450 needed a new chromium molybdenum steel frame, a potent 63hp, 450cc, SOHC, engine, and a bucket of weight-saving items.
Our press release says the new FS 450 will be out in dealers in September of this year, but we take that to surely mean European showrooms, not American. We hope this bike will come the USA though, as it sounds like two wheels of hoon for sumo enthusiasts, and a lighter option than the Husqvarna 701 Supermoto.
I had the supreme pleasure of being a guest at the KTM factory last week, touring the Austrian company’s headquarters at Mattighofen.
Seeing some things that I should have perhaps not have seen, Asphalt & Rubber can now confirm two things: the Husqvarna 701 Supermoto looks awesome in person, and that there will be a Husqvarna 701 Enduro for the 2016 model year.
A riding buddy of mine taunted me last night about how he was going out to the supermoto track, while I’ve been itching to get out on mine…so we’re starting today off with a little homage to the Sultans of Slide, the European Luc1 supermoto team.
I hope all motorcycle racing teams take a long look at what Luc1 is doing, because they not only win on the track, but they also win at content creation. At the end of the day, professional motorcycle racing is about selling for sponsors, and Luc1 not only gets that, but they excel at it.
Take this video here, where they are joined by Dani Pedrosa, who has a little free time right now since it is MotoGP’s summer break. Good things happen.