Do you like Baggers in MotoGP? Austin divides opinion: lackluster show, Rovelli brings Italian joy

What do you think about this new Bagger World Cup? Commentary and how the first round in Austin went.

Alongside MotoGP, Austin also hosted the very first event of the new Harley Davidson Bagger World Cup, the new mini-championship of bagger bikes that has replaced the now-defunct MotoE. There’s already an early Italian joy with a Race 1 podium for Filippo Rovelli, the only Italian on the grid (9 riders in total) with the very Italian ParkinGO team. Are we sure this is a good addition to the World Championship paddock? Will it really appeal to the European audience (after Austin it only races in the Old Continent), or is it something typically American, better suited to MotoAmerica and its fans? We’ll leave the questions open to any opinion, even if a few personal conclusions can already be drawn after these days... Here’s how the inaugural round went.

Let’s recall the format: two free practice sessions and qualifying on Friday, Race 1 on Saturday after the Sprint, Sunday Race 2 before all the other races and the MotoGP warm-up. Starting with FP: in the opening session we saw Archie McDonald (Joe Rascal Racing) in front with a 2:13.705, a time the former Stock JuniorGP Australian shaved in FP2, bringing it down to 2:13.043 to stay ahead. Times dropped further in qualifying, with a final 2:12.387 that allowed Eric Granado (Joe Rascal Racing) to take the first-ever Bagger pole ahead of teammate McDonald, with the front row completed by Oscar Gutierrez (Niti Racing). Then came the much-anticipated start of the first race, just 7 laps after the Sprint.

The only twist was Granado’s fall in the closing laps, throwing away what had become a fairly certain victory after he’d passed McDonald, with whom he had quickly broken away. The final triumph went to the Australian ahead of home rider Jake Lewis (Saddleman Racing), with our Filippo Rovelli taking the third step of the podium, earning ParkinGO their first satisfaction in this new championship. Then it was time for Race 2, again without particular twists and, alas, not much on-track action... In the end, the win went to Gutierrez over the aforementioned Joe Rascal Racing duo, with seven riders finishing out of 9: Cody Wyman (Joe Rascal Racing) didn’t even start due to bike issues, and Travis Wyman (Saddleman Racing) stopped one lap from the end due to technical problems.

1. Archie McDonald - AUS - Joe Rascal Racing - 41 points
2. Oscar Gutierrez - SPA - Niti Racing - 33 points
3. Jake Lewis - USA - Saddleman Racing - 33 points
4. Eric Granado - BRA - Joe Rascal Racing - 30 points
5. Filippo Rovelli - ITA - ParkinGO Team - 27 points
6. Cory West - USA - Saddleman Racing - 23 points
7. Travis Wyman - USA - Saddleman Racing - 11 points
8. Cody Wyman - USA - Joe Rascal Racing - 9 points
9. Dimas Ekky Pramata - INA - Niti Racing - 9 points

As with all new things, doubts are quite legitimate. MotoE, the electric World Cup that started in 2019 with Energica and then continued with Ducati, was shelved because it neither appealed nor convinced. The arrival of a new World Cup had already been announced; with MotoE’s official end, what had been rumored became clear: the goal was to retire the electric series and replace it with something else. Certainly Harley-Davidson’s arrival is prestigious, in fact a sort of “return” of a brand once present in Grand Prix racing (we talked about it here). But are we sure baggers will convince and interest the non-American public?

There’s already a European series, won last year by Manuel Grandi, but a World Cup—even if called a Cup—might be a step too far, at least for now. The grid says as much: 4 teams and 9 riders in total, a bit thin for a new championship. The timing of the tests, exactly on the MotoGP round weekend in Brazil, also raises eyebrows, as does the very little media attention, which already seems to indicate limited interest in the category. The next event will be at the end of May at Mugello; perhaps then we’ll have more telling answers.