Crash! Boom! Bang!

January's Superprestigio dirt-track race in Barcelona, Spain, provided a rare opportunity for motorcycle racing fans to watch the best roadracer in the world, current MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez, lock horns with the best dirt tracker in the world, AMA Pro Flat Grand National Champion Brad "The Bullet" Baker, on converted 450cc motocross bikes.

As anyone who watched our live steaming coverage of the event knows, Marquez crashed out of the Super Final after tangling with Baker. We didn’t have space in the April, 2014, issue for this nine-photo sequence, so here it is, along with Contributing Editor Gary Inman’s firsthand description of the crash:

“Baker tends to run the wide line through the corners, back wheel on the cushion, passing Marquez at the exit. The Spaniard fights back on the entry to the next corner, braking up the inside line and forcing Baker wide on the exit. Twice he puts Baker into the air fence. Twice Baker fights back. At first, the exceptionally fluid Baker looks like he is in control, toying with his host. As the laps tick down, though, I think Marquez might beat the American.

"On lap 10, on the entry to turn one, Marquez leaves a foot but Baker takes a mile. The MotoGP rider bounces off the American like a wasp off a windshield and goes down like the Titanic. Baker looks over his shoulder and seems to be waiting for a red flag. No one else is, and the chasing pack is soon on his tail. So Baker accelerates to easily take the win ahead of Rabat and Noyes."

What do you think: Should he be called Brad "The Bull" Baker? Read Inman's full report in the April issue of Cycle World, on sale March 4.