VOL. 51 ISSUE 2 JANUARY 14, 2014
P23
Briefly...
(From left to right) Rabat, Baker and Noyes celebrate
after the Superprestigio final.
to do a slide job coming into the corner," Baker
said afterwards. "I'm sorry he had to fall, it wasn't
my intention, but sometimes that's what happens
in racing - especially on short tracks."
Marquez concurred.
"In the final I enjoyed a lot racing with Brad," the
Spaniard said. "We had a tough battle, but in the
end, this is racing, sometimes this happens."
Kenny Noyes made light of the contact between
Marquez and Baker.
"It's a good job they don't hand out penalty
points like they do in GPs," he joked.
With Marquez out, Moto2 rider Tito Rabat took
second – an impressive result in his first dirt track
race.
Noyes snagged the final podium spot after a
rough start to the evening when he crashed out
in the heats and only qualified via the last chance
final.
"It started out pretty squirrelly, it's been 10 years
since I last raced dirt track," Noyes said.
The Superprestigio was just an exhibition event,
but Baker came intending to win.
"I wanted to win really bad, you know," Baker
said. "If he [Marquez] would have won, it would
have looked amazing for him, and it would have
made me look really, really bad, because that's
what I do."
David Emmett
Marquez Grand
Marshall
Brad Baker showed himself a grateful guest at the
Spanish Superprestigio
dirt track, inviting Marc
Marquez to be the Grand
Marshall at the Indy Mile,
which runs in conjunction
with the Red Bull Indianapolis GP in August. "If you
want to do some laps on
the Indy Mile on an XR750
you can do that, or I can
set you up with a 450 Honda," Baker offered. Marquez was flattered to be
invited, but turned down
the chance to ride. "During the season, it's impossible to ride, but I will come
to see you," Marquez said.
More Yanks Want In
The Superprestigio was
deemed a success by
the organizers, with a
crowd of 8000 turning
up to half fill the Palau
Sant Jordi indoor arena.
Will it happen again next
year? Marc Marquez
stated his intention that it
should. "For sure I want
to do it again," he said.
If he does, then Brad
Baker will be back. "I'm
definitely going to come
back here next year, even
if I have to make it happen
myself." The event certainly generated a lot of
interest from AMA racers.
"I want to come next year
too," Tweeted JD Beach.
He was echoed by James
Rispoli: "I want in!"
Track Prep 101
For the first time organizing
an indoor flat track race,
the state of the track at the
Superprestigio was pretty
good, Baker and AMA
flagman Kevin Clark concurred. It was as good as
many tracks they race on in
the U.S., they said, though
it had started out a little too
dusty, as the Spanish organizers had been hesitant to
feed the track with as much
water as it needed. They
were willing pupils, however, sending out for road
salt to help suck moisture
into the track at Clark's request. "Towards the end of
the night, they learned a lot
on how to prep a dirt track,"
Baker said.
SX Dream Room
Makeover
Feld Motor Sports and
MX for Children have announced the MX for Children Supercross Dream
Room Makeover, a new
charity event for 2014 that
will coincide with the Seattle stop of the Monster
Energy AMA Supercross
Series on April 12. This
collaborative effort between Feld Motor Sports
and MX for Children will
enhance the quality of life
for a chronically ill child
who is also a fan of Supercross. One child will be
selected to receive a complete bedroom makeover
themed with Monster Energy Supercross scenes
continued on page 29
