VOL. 54 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 19, 2017 P57
for the number-one spot, but he
enjoyed his Superprestigio debut
and his first time overseas. "We
really put everything, all of our
passion and soul, into this. I had
so much fun riding all week with
everyone. I met so many new
people. Never in a million years
would I have thought that [Jo-
hann] Zarco would come up and
maybe ask me for a tip on how
to ride. I couldn't believe it. Like
I said yesterday, I get a little star
struck sometimes. Altogether just
a great experience."
It was also an eye-opener to
see the level of the competition
overseas. "The level of competi-
tiveness over here is far higher
than I expected," Bauman added.
"I'd come in from qualifying and
be like, 'that felt really good,' and
I'd look at the times and I'd be
sixth! I was like, 'Wow. I don't
know what to do.'"
Bauman had the support of his
team behind him, team owner/
tuner Dave Zanotti and mechanic
Michelle DiSalvo. They also
helped Beach, but for them it was
really a complete team effort.
"It was a wild main event," Bau-
man said. "At the beginning of the
race Ferran and I got together
and I kind of shuffled back to
fifth or sixth. Unfortunately with
how tight the track was, I had to
make a lot of aggressive moves.
I got into pretty much everyone
on the racetrack, I think. But
unfortunately, [with this] kind of
smaller racetrack, and how we
have grown up in America, you
kind of muscle around a little bit if
you can."
There were two Spanish chal-
lengers—Ferran Cardus, back-to-
back Spanish National Flat Track
Champion, and MotoAmerica Su-
perbike champ Toni Elias, runner
up in last year's Superprestigio.
Straight out of the gate,
Cardus was fastest. He had the
combination of local knowledge
and spending some quality time
with mentor Baker and the first
three rounds of American Flat
Track. He looked to be the man
to beat. He ended the day a solid
third place in the final (his first
Superprestigio final podium) giv-
ing dirt trackers the sweep of the
podium. Although Cardus was
hoping for better at home, he was
happy to continue his flat track
education and hopes to return
to the U.S. for a full season of
American Flat Track in 2018.
And then there was Elias who
got knocked around en route to a
fourth-place finish.
"At the end, American style is
American style," Elias said. "JD
passed me. Also, Briar. Both
came and said, 'Sorry for the
overtake,' but I was not angry,
because they showed me a new
way to pass. When you don't
have space, they have the experi-
ence to find this space. They
passed me where there was no
space. It was incredible. I just
want to congratulate JD, also
Briar, to overtake me in that way.
That was a big-balls overtake for
both. I'm just very happy to race
against them."
Andrea Wilson
SUPERFINAL
1. JD Beach
2. Briar Bauman
3. Cardus Ferran
4. Toni Elias
5. Fabio Di Giannantonio
6. Albert Arenas
7. Guillermo Cano
8. Remy Gardner
Toni Elias got
a little roughed
up by the
Americans
en route to a
fourth-place
finish.
Beach and
Bauman celebrate
their 1-2 finish.
