FIM Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup
Round Two – Mugello
The second round of the Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup took the big V-twin race machines to Mugello over the MotoGP weekend, and the Tuscan circuit delivered a pair of close, combative eight-lap races.
For Archie McDonald, the weekend carried an extra degree of difficulty. The Australian had never seen Mugello before arriving for round two, while several of the riders he was fighting at the front had either previous circuit knowledge, deeper European experience, or both. That did not stop McDonald from immediately taking the lead when the lights went out.
Qualifying
Eric Granado set the benchmark in qualifying with a 1m56.704 to secure pole position for Joe Rascal Racing. McDonald made it a team one-two on the front row, stopping the clock at 1m57.027 to finish just 0.323s from pole. Andrea Iannone qualified third on his Niti Racing Harley-Davidson in 1m57.251, with Oscar Gutiérrez fourth on 1m57.309.
That placed the top four within just over six-tenths of a second, and the numbers suggested the racing was likely to be tighter again. Iannone also showed the speed of the Harley-Davidson machinery down Mugello’s front straight, topping the qualifying speed figures at 276.9 km/h, while Granado, McDonald and Gutiérrez were all logged at 274.1 km/h.
McDonald leads early in Race One
McDonald made full use of his front-row start in Race One. The Australian led the opening lap from Granado, Iannone and Gutiérrez, while Dimas Ekky Pratama’s race ended before he completed the first lap, with the timing sheet later noting the rider was okay.
The leading four quickly sorted themselves into a proper fight. McDonald remained in front through laps two, three and four, while Iannone moved ahead of Granado on the second lap and shadowed the Australian through the early stages. Gutiérrez sat fourth but was never out of touch, keeping the lead group covered while the pace settled into the 1m57s and 1m58s.
Iannone’s challenge was then complicated by race direction. He was handed a long-lap penalty for overtaking under yellow flags, then received another long-lap penalty for incorrect execution of the first. That took the Italian out of the immediate victory fight, despite the fact that his outright speed remained clear; his best lap of 1m57.441 was still the third-fastest lap of the race.
Granado took over the lead on lap five, with McDonald second and Gutiérrez now third. By lap seven, Granado still led, but Gutiérrez had moved to second and was only 0.262s behind, while McDonald remained within a second of the lead.
Gutiérrez then made his decisive move on the final lap. The Spaniard crossed the line 0.171s ahead of Granado, with McDonald completing the podium just 0.365s from victory. It was a three-rider finish decided by less than four-tenths after 41.96 kilometres of racing.
The fastest-lap sheet underlined how close McDonald had been. Gutiérrez set the race record with a 1m57.350 on lap seven, while McDonald’s best lap was a 1m57.390 on the final lap, just 0.040s slower than the winning benchmark.
Gutiérrez said the Race One victory carried extra weight after a difficult build-up.
“This Race 1 victory feels even more special than the one in Austin because Mugello has always been a difficult circuit for me. I was not feeling well yesterday due to an allergy and very little sleep, but we knew we had the pace to fight at the front. I focused on riding a smart race, studying my rivals and waiting for the right moment to attack. On the final lap I made my move on Eric and managed to take the win.”
Iannone recovered to fourth, 6.670s from the winner after completing the penalties, while Filippo Rovelli completed the top five. Jake Lewis was sixth, ahead of Cody Wyman, Travis Wyman and Cory West.
Iannone answers back in Race Two
Race Two brought a different shape but a similar intensity at the front. Rovelli launched from fifth on the grid to lead the opening lap, with Iannone second, Granado third, Gutiérrez fourth and McDonald fifth.
Gutiérrez’s hopes of a Mugello double disappeared early. The Race One winner crashed, was recorded as rider okay, and rejoined the race, but the time lost left him at the back of the field. He eventually finished tenth, salvaging six points on a day that had briefly looked likely to strengthen his championship position.
Granado took control of the race on lap two and led through to the end of lap six, but Iannone was never far away. The Italian sat within a few tenths for most of the race, while McDonald moved into third on lap two and consolidated another podium position.
By lap four, the leading trio had put themselves clear of Rovelli. Granado led Iannone by 0.355s, with McDonald 0.627s from the lead. One lap later the margin from first to third was still only 0.455s, but the duel for victory was beginning to narrow to Granado versus Iannone.
Iannone made his move on lap seven, taking the lead from Granado and beginning the final lap with a slender margin. He then delivered the fastest lap of the weekend when it mattered most, a 1m56.804 on lap eight, setting a new race lap record and securing victory by 0.512s.
Granado finished second for the second time that day, while McDonald brought home another strong third, 3.135s from the win. Rovelli finished fourth, with Pratama bouncing back from his Race One non-finish to claim fifth ahead of Lewis.
Iannone said the opportunity to race the Harley-Davidson at Mugello had been a genuine surprise.
“Coming back to racing is always special, but doing it here at Mugello and with Harley-Davidson made it even more incredible. I really enjoyed it. What surprised me the most is the riding experience of this bike. Once you get on track, you discover a true race machine. It can achieve impressive lap times, it handles really well and, above all, it’s a lot of fun to ride.”
Iannone’s Race Two pace was not just reflected on the stopwatch. He and McDonald were both logged at 281.2 km/h, with only Gutiérrez higher on the speed chart at 281.9 km/h.
McDonald leaves Mugello with the points lead
McDonald did not win at Mugello, but his weekend might prove just as valuable as a victory. Two third places, on a circuit he had never previously seen, lifted the Australian into the championship lead after four races.
The points table after Race Two had McDonald on 73 points, three clear of Granado on 70, with Gutiérrez third on 64. Jake Lewis sat fourth on 53, just ahead of Rovelli on 51. Iannone’s Mugello-only haul of fourth and first immediately moved him to 38 points.
McDonald’s consistency is now the early marker in the championship. Across the first four races, he has recorded a win, followed by three third places, and has not yet finished off the podium. Granado has also built momentum with three straight runner-up finishes, while Gutiérrez has already won twice but paid heavily for his Race Two mistake.
Bagger World Cup Race One Results
 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
POS
|
RIDER
|
BIKE
|
TIME
|
|
1
|
O Gutierrez
|
HD
|
15m50.035
|
|
2
|
E Granado
|
HD
|
+0.171
|
|
3
|
A McDonald
|
HD
|
+0.365
|
|
4
|
A Iannone
|
HD
|
+6.670
|
|
5
|
F Rovelli
|
HD
|
+7.373
|
|
6
|
J Lewis
|
HD
|
+23.355
|
|
7
|
C Wyman
|
HD
|
+26.560
|
|
8
|
T Wyman
|
HD
|
+26.620
|
|
9
|
C West
|
HD
|
+26.739
|
|
DNF
|
D Ekky Pratama
|
HD
|
DNF
|
Bagger World Cup Race Two Results
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Pos
|
Rider
|
Bike
|
Time/Gap
|
|
1
|
A. Iannone
|
HD
|
15m47.927
|
|
2
|
E. Granado
|
HD
|
+0.512
|
|
3
|
A. McDonald
|
HD
|
+3.135
|
|
4
|
F. Rovelli
|
HD
|
+9.319
|
|
5
|
D. Ekky Pratama
|
HD
|
+16.898
|
|
6
|
J. Lewis
|
HD
|
+17.210
|
|
7
|
C. West
|
HD
|
+22.854
|
|
8
|
C. Wyman
|
HD
|
+22.966
|
|
9
|
T. Wyman
|
HD
|
+23.745
|
|
10
|
O. Gutierrez
|
HD
|
+53.001
|
Bagger World Cup Standings
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Pos
|
Rider
|
Nation
|
Points
|
|
1
|
A. McDonald
|
AUS
|
73
|
|
2
|
E. Granado
|
BRA
|
70
|
|
3
|
O. Gutierrez
|
SPA
|
64
|
|
4
|
J. Lewis
|
USA
|
53
|
|
5
|
F. Rovelli
|
ITA
|
51
|
|
6
|
C. West
|
USA
|
39
|
|
7
|
A. Iannone
|
ITA
|
38
|
|
8
|
T. Wyman
|
USA
|
26
|
|
9
|
C. Wyman
|
USA
|
26
|
|
10
|
D. Ekky Pratama
|
INA
|
20
|
Bagger World Cup Top Speeds
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Pos
|
Rider
|
Average
|
Top
|
|
1
|
O. Gutierrez
|
269.3
|
281.9
|
|
2
|
A. Iannone
|
277.6
|
281.2
|
|
3
|
A. McDonald
|
277.6
|
281.2
|
|
4
|
C. Wyman
|
278.9
|
280.5
|
|
5
|
D. Ekky Pratama
|
274.5
|
278.3
|
|
6
|
F. Rovelli
|
274.5
|
277.6
|
|
7
|
E. Granado
|
272.9
|
277.6
|
|
8
|
C. West
|
272.6
|
275.5
|
|
9
|
T. Wyman
|
271.6
|
272.7
|
|
10
|
J. Lewis
|
269.0
|
272.0
|
Bagger World Cup Qualifying Results
|
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Pos
|
Rider
|
Bike
|
Time/Gap
|
Speed
|
|
|
1
|
E. Granado
|
HD
|
1m56.704
|
274.1
|
|
|
2
|
A. McDonald
|
HD
|
1m57.027
|
+0.323
|
274.1
|
|
3
|
A. Iannone
|
HD
|
1m57.251
|
+0.547
|
276.9
|
|
4
|
O. Gutierrez
|
HD
|
1m57.309
|
+0.605
|
274.1
|
|
5
|
F. Rovelli
|
HD
|
1m58.529
|
+1.825
|
271.3
|
|
6
|
D. Ekky Pratama
|
HD
|
1m59.180
|
+2.476
|
274.1
|
|
7
|
J. Lewis
|
HD
|
2m00.249
|
+3.545
|
267.9
|
|
8
|
C. Wyman
|
HD
|
2m00.733
|
+4.029
|
267.9
|
|
9
|
T. Wyman
|
HD
|
2m01.169
|
+4.465
|
263.4
|
|
10
|
C. West
|
HD
|
2m01.415
|
+4.711
|
268.6
|
About the Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup
The Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup will be the world’s first global racing series dedicated exclusively to high-performance Harley-Davidson bagger motorcycles, competing as a premier support championship on select MotoGP weekends across North America and Europe.
Bagger World Cup race bikes are built on Harley-Davidson’s Grand American Touring platform, transformed by Harley-Davidson Factory Racing into purpose-built competition machines.
Each race-prepared Harley-Davidson Road Glide features:
- A Milwaukee-Eight V-Twin 131R race-modified motor
- Purpose-built chassis, suspension, braking, and electronics packages
- Extensive weight reduction and aerodynamic development
- Performance levels exceeding 200 horsepower, with top speeds up to 300 km/h (186 mph)
Bagger World Cup Technical Regulations Here
Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup Calendar
- Austin, USA: March 27–29
- Mugello, Italy: May 29–31
- Assen, Netherlands: June 26–28
- Silverstone, Great Britain: August 7–9
- Aragon, Spain: August 28–30
- Red Bull Ring, Austria: September 18–20
