MotoGP World Champion Marc Márquez will serve as Grand Marshal of the 2014 Indy Mile AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National, which returns to the Indiana State Fairgrounds on Friday, August 8. After winning Grand Prix roadracing’s premier-class title by just four points in his rookie year, the 21-year-old Repsol Honda rider has been unstoppable, standing on the top spot of the podium at every round thus far this season.
Like the thousands of motorcycle racing fans that will be in Indianapolis for the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix August 8-10, Márquez, who also has 125cc GP and Moto2 world titles to his credit, has a love for the handlebar-to-handlebar, sideways-sliding thrills of the AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship. Following the teachings of three-time 500cc World Champion and 1975 Indy Mile-winner Kenny Roberts, Márquez believes dirt-track is the best training for MotoGP bike control.
This past January, the Spanish roadracing sensation squared off with 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Champion Brad “The Bullet” Baker at the “Superprestigio,” an invitational indoor all-star race held at the Palau Sant Jordi Olympic Stadium in Barcelona. In the “Super Final,” Baker, who is just one day younger than Márquez, picked up the win after the pair collided and Márquez fell in the closing laps of the event. In spite of the tight competition, the two became good friends.
Márquez and Baker will participate in a special champions question-and-answer session before the crowd during opening ceremonies at the 2014 Indy Mile. Plans also call for video footage of the Márquez and Baker Barcelona duel to be shown on the Jumbotron screens in front of the main grandstand as the riders talk about the experience.
“I am so excited about this opportunity,” Márquez said. “I love dirt-track, and it will be my second time watching it on the circuit. I looking forward to being there with all of the American fans during Indy GP.”
“I always get excited every year for the Indy Mile/GP weekend,” Baker said. “This year is extra special for me after meeting a lot of the GP riders and experiencing the mutual respect between the two sports. Marc is a super-cool guy and an amazing motorcycle rider on the pavement as well as the dirt. I’m really looking forward to visiting with him again.”
“We know the demands on the time of an international superstar like Marc Márquez and feel fortunate to have him spend some time with the fans at the 2014 Indy Mile,” Mike Moore, president of Indy Mile producers The Promotion Company, Inc.- Family Events, said. “I think it says a lot about the respect that the world’s best racers have for AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship racing. We welcome Marc Márquez and Team Repsol Honda to the Indy Mile and thank them for joining us. It should be a real treat for all the fans.”
The Indy Mile will be held from 2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Friday, August 8. Gates open at 2:00 p.m. Practice and qualifying will run from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., and there will be a rider autograph session in the cold pit area from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Opening ceremonies will commence at 7:00 p.m. followed by heat races at 7:30 p.m. and the AMA Pro Grand National Expert Twins Main Event at 9:30 p.m.
