P22
IN
THE
WIND
I
t was billed as the clash of the
champions, and that is exactly
what it turned into. When AMA
Grand National Champion Brad
Baker found himself invited to
the Superprestigio indoor flat
track event organized by newly
crowned MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez, it was inevitable that the two men would meet
in the Superfinal. The Palau Sant
Jordi on Barcelona's Montjuic Hill
provided a setting steeped in racing history, and the race provided
the fireworks that the promoters
had hoped for.
Baker swept through his heats
in the Open category unchallenged, beating the best of Europe's largely amateur dirt track
elite with ease. Marquez took
top honors in the Superprestigio
class, the invitation-only class for
the best road racers in the world,
Brad Baker (1) went to Spain to race in the
Superprestigio and while he was there he
made sure he beat Marc Marquez (93).
though the MotoGP champ had
a little more trouble, winning
three of the four points finals,
but relegated to third in another
after an early mistake. The Superprestigio final pitted the top
four from each category, setting
Baker (1) runs the high line with Marquez (93), Kenny Noyes
(9), Jose Gomez (3), Tito Rabat (53), Aleix Espargaro (41)
and Merle Scherb (78) giving chase.
up a fine Transatlantic line up.
Marquez had Tito Rabat, Aleix
Espargaro, Jose Pedro Gomez
and Dani Ribalta representing
Spain, while Baker had fellow
Americans Kenny Noyes and
Merle Scherb at his side.
When the flag dropped, Baker
and Marquez showed they were
a step ahead, with Marquez getting the holeshot but Baker taking the lead into turn two. The
lead swapped constantly for nine
laps - Baker sliding smoothly underneath while Marquez took
his ragged MotoGP style to the
dirt, both men banging bars constantly. Marquez's race ended
early when he tried to close the
door on Baker, but found the
American sitting on the line.
"I was just trying to square him
up coming off the corner and try
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF SOLO MOTO
BAKER BESTS MARQUEZ IN SPAIN
