Two winners and exciting duels at the opening round of the Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup in Austin
On the last weekend of March, the first races of the new, worldwide FIM Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup in cooperation with MotoGP took place at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas. They were held alongside the MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas and provided dramatic moments and intense battles on the track.
Both races were fiercely contested right up to the final laps and produced the first two winners in the history of the series. Archie McDonald (Joe Rascal Racing) secured victory in Race 1 on Saturday, while Oscar Gutiérrez (NitiRacing) won race 2 on Sunday.
Race 1
At the start of the first race in the history of the championship, young Australian Archie McDonald got off to a perfect start, beating his teammate Eric Granado, who had secured pole position in qualifying with a lap time of 2:12.387 minutes. The battle between the two drivers came to a head towards the middle of the race when Granado took the lead after a mistake by McDonald. The Australian regained his position when Granado lost control of the front wheel under braking and dropped back down the field. Jake Lewis (Saddlemen Race Development) demonstrated his experience and skills over the entire race distance and secured second place with a strong, consistent performance. Filippo Rovelli (ParkinGO Team) took third place with a confident and disciplined effort.
Race 2
At the start of the second race, McDonald and Granado were once again the key protagonists, with the Australian repeating his strong start. The two Joe Rascal Racing Team drivers set a fast pace right from the start, but were unable to pull away from Oscar Gutiérrez (NitiRacing), who improved lap after lap. The Spaniard closed the gap more and more and eventually took the lead with two clean overtaking maneuvers before securing victory. With a time of 2:12.348 minutes, Gutiérrez also set a new record for the series on the Circuit of The Americas on lap five, securing both the race record and the lap record for the Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup on this track. Archie McDonald finished second, but a three-second time penalty for not completing the mandatory long lap after crossing the track limits twice dropped the Australian back to third place in the final standings. As a result, Eric Granado moved up to second place.
Comments on the race weekend
Jeffrey Schuessler, Director of Global Racing Programs, Harley-Davidson
„This weekend delivered exactly what we had planned: a tight field, battles that were decided in the final laps and riders who pushed their machines to the limit right from the start. The high level of this competition was immediately apparent - a strong indication of where the championship is heading.
We also saw how different riding styles came together on the track as each rider found their own way to be fast on the bike. This made for a really interesting race dynamic and underlined how competitive and adaptable this grid is right from the start.
The global nature of the championship is particularly impressive, with drivers and teams from different parts of the world coming together to be part of something new - a significant step forward for the series.
And then there are the emotions. You listen to the sound, sense the enormous torque and simply feel the presence of these motorcycles. It's genuine, it's different, it's real. It's not just racing, we're building something new here, a global platform that brings a different kind of energy to the MotoGP stage and appeals to fans in a way that suits Harley-Davidson perfectly.“
Archie McDonald, Joe Rascal Racing - Winner of the first race
„History. That's the first word that comes to mind. It was the first race in the history of the Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup, and I got the first win - hopefully the first of many. I am happy. There was a lot of preparation behind this project from me, the team and Harley-Davidson. That's one of the reasons why the result feels so fantastic. I had a strong start, even if it wasn't ideal to be in the lead early on. Granado overtook me after a mistake and I stayed with him. Then he made a mistake and I took the lead again. My plan was to attack in the final laps, but in the end it wasn't necessary. I feel sorry for Eric's crash because I didn't want to win like that. But I'm still enjoying the moment. I'm proud of my team and of Harley-Davidson, who have made history with me, and I thank them all.“
Oscar Gutiérrez, NitiRacing - Winner of the second race
„I am happy about this victory. After the first race, we rediscovered our strengths and Sunday couldn't have ended any better for us. I could already feel in the morning that we had potential. From the formation lap I had a great feeling for the bike and I told my team that today was the right day. During the race I took time to watch Archie and Eric in front of me to see where I could attack them. Then there was this moment when I felt much stronger. So I decided to step on the gas and go for it with the maneuver. It's a great win, but we have to keep working, because the championship may seem short, but for us the end is a long way off, as there are still several races to go. We want to continue on the path we are on now and look ahead to Mugello. The start is an area where I still need to improve. Because McDonald and Granado had a very strong start, I had to fight my way forward at the beginning of the race. But I knew that I would make it if I kept calm, and that's exactly what I did. I stayed patient for a few laps. When I felt the time was right, I started to overtake and won in the end.“
Championship standings after the opening weekend
Leading after the opening race Archie McDonald leads the championship standings with 41 points. This puts him ahead of Oscar Gutiérrez and Jake Lewis, who both have 33 points to their name.
| Pos. | Driver | Nation | Points | R1/R2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Archie McDonald | OFF | 41 | 25/16 |
| 2 | Oscar Gutiérrez | SPA | 33 | 8/25 |
| 3 | Jake Lewis | United States | 33 | 20/13 |
| 4 | Eric Granado | BRA | 30 | 10/20 |
| 5 | Filippo Rovelli | ITA | 27 | 16/11 |
| 6 | Cory West | United States | 23 | 13/10 |
| 7 | Travis Wyman | United States | 11 | 11/- |
| 8 | Cody Wyman | United States | 9 | 9/- |
| 9 | Dimas Ekky Pratama | INA | 9 | -/9 |
Next run
The next run of the FIM Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cups takes place from May 29 to 31 as part of the Italian Grand Prix of the MotoGP on the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello takes place.
Text and image credits: Harley-Davidson
