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We are just about to start the Saturday evening events here in Barcelona. We got off to an interesting start yesterday in the press conference, where reigning MotoGP champ Marc Marquez broke down while making a statement in response to recent criticism about his announced move to Italy.

After years of being the idol who could do no wrong, his planned move away from the family home in Spain to Andorra drew harsh comments and a petition of 45,000 people calling for his sponsors to drop him for moving to avoid paying taxes. Marquez said this is not the reason he is moving, and he will continue to pay taxes in Spain as he always has. Look for in depth articles on the situation by people who speak better Spanish than I do!

UPDATE: For details on this moment, please check out the Cycle World article.

Once that was out of the way (he took questions about the Superprestigio afterward but strictly no questions about his statement), he was back to business being one of the fastest riders here.

Bts where is ‘here’ and what are we doing? We are flat track racing. On top of a concrete floor inside a small arena, several feet of dirt have been spread in an oval, then packed down first by tractors, then by spinning motorcycle tires.

And spin those tires do, throwing dirt clods into the air as the fling the looser dirt away from an ever-hardening dirt base.

You’d better watch out when this guy is headed your way. This rig makes the entire building shake when he’s out grooming the dirt.

Many road racers have experience on dirt. MotoGP rider Bradley Smith talks to American flat tracker Brad Baker.

Marc and Alex Marquez watch the action from the spectator seats.

Alex Marquez is also riding but is not as quick as Marc.

The event will be broadcast live so some riders are wired up to deliver HD footage. This is Moto2 champ Tito Rabat.

If you crash, you don’t need a scooter to get back to the paddock. Toni Elias takes the scenic route.

Photographs: ©2014 by Scott Jones / PHOTO.GP – All Rights Reserved

Camera Info: Nikon D4 with Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8