America’s Brad Baker, who had flown across to Spain for the event, emerged victorious at the opening round of the RFME Copa de España Flat Track. The event was held at the new off-road facility at the Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo.
Saturday saw the riders run on a classic flat track oval, the same kind many now use to train. Brad Baker was dominant in the event and cruised into the final, 12 riders hitting the oval for 16 laps. From the first corner Baker was in the lead and before long he vanished into the distance. Behind Ferran Cardus and Britain’s Oliver Brindley completed the podium.
Baker was strong in both parts of the event, proving almost untouchable to the flat track race before putting in a great performance on the TT circuit on Sunday, built in the image of the legendary Californian track of Lodi. Local hero and former World Champion Nico Terol also showed well, taking fifth on the dirt oval before stealing second in the TT event, his first time in such a race.
The American didn’t get the best start in the Sunday event and spent the opening laps hunting down Terol. Both riders pushed hard and were able to open up a significant advantage over the rest. Baker would eventually get past Terol, but the Spaniard was pleased with his performance regardless: “The weekend has been spectacular, I’ve had a great time and learned a lot. It is a treat to have a facility like this in your circuit.” Valencia’s Ivan Romero was another surprise of the day as he completed the podium with third place.
Round 2 of the RFME Copa de España Flat Track will be held at the circuit San Martin de la Vega in Madrid on July 30th.