FIM Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup
Round Four – Silverstone
Archie McDonald closes on Bagger World Cup lead after Silverstone masterclass
Archie McDonald continues to make his introduction to Bagger racing look almost absurdly easy.
The 20-year-old Australian had never even thrown a leg over one of these enormous race-prepared Harley-Davidson Road Glides until only a few months ago, yet at Silverstone he was arguably the standout rider of the entire FIM Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup weekend.
McDonald is by far the least experienced Bagger racer among the championship’s leading contenders and gives away a vast amount of international experience to rivals such as Eric Granado, Andrea Iannone, Jordi Torres and British wildcard Bradley Smith. None of that showed at Silverstone.
The Joe Rascal Racing youngster topped qualifying with a stunning 2m08.832s to claim his first Bagger World Cup pole position and establish the outright category lap record at Silverstone. That lap put him more than six-tenths clear of Oscar Gutiérrez and almost eight-tenths ahead of former MotoGP rider Smith.
McDonald then came agonisingly close to converting pole into victory on Saturday. Smith rode superbly to lead every lap of Race One, but McDonald was getting faster as the race went on and produced a new race lap record of 2m09.030s on the final lap. Archie took more than a third of a second out of Smith on that last lap alone and crossed the line only 0.112 seconds behind the Briton.
There are never any guarantees in racing, but such was McDonald’s late-race pace that another lap would almost certainly have made things very interesting indeed.
On Sunday, McDonald removed any doubt. He led Race Two from start to finish, resisted sustained pressure from championship leader Granado and eventually took the chequered flag 0.757 seconds clear of the Brazilian. Jordi Torres completed an all-Joe Rascal Racing podium.
It was McDonald’s second victory of the inaugural Bagger World Cup season and another remarkable performance from a rider still learning the peculiar demands of wrestling these huge machines around a racetrack.
More importantly, the Silverstone haul brought McDonald right back onto Granado’s rear wheel in the championship. The Australian now has 142 points against Granado’s 147, leaving just five points between them with two rounds remaining.
For a rider who had no Bagger experience whatsoever, Archie has proven to be very much a contender to become the inaugural FIM Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup Champion.
Bagger World Cup Race One
Bradley Smith holds off flying McDonald in Race One
Home wildcard Bradley Smith ensured the huge Silverstone crowd had something extra to celebrate on Saturday afternoon, but Archie McDonald came within metres of spoiling the party.
McDonald started from pole after his record-breaking qualifying performance, but Smith made the better launch from the outside of the front row and led the field at the completion of lap one.
Oscar Gutiérrez briefly pushed McDonald back to third on lap two before the Australian regained second and set about chasing Smith.
Smith was doing everything required at the front, steadily improving his pace as the seven-lap race developed, while McDonald likewise continued to find speed aboard the Joe Rascal Racing Harley.
The gap between them was 0.602 seconds with two laps remaining before McDonald reduced that margin to 0.466 seconds on lap six.
Then the Australian really turned up the wick.
McDonald produced a stunning 2m09.030s on the final lap, the fastest lap of the race and a new race lap record. Smith also produced his personal best on the final circulation, a 2m09.384s, but McDonald had nevertheless taken 0.354 seconds out of the Briton in little more than two minutes.
At the chequered flag, only 0.112 seconds separated them.
Smith thoroughly deserved the victory after leading all seven laps, but McDonald’s finishing speed made it difficult not to wonder what might have happened had the race gone one lap longer.
Granado was also right in the hunt and completed the podium only 0.724 seconds behind Smith, while Andrea Iannone and Jordi Torres rounded out a tightly packed top five.
The victory was a particularly special one for Smith in front of his home crowd. The 35-year-old has previously stood on Grand Prix podiums in Moto3, Moto2, MotoGP and MotoE, with his Bagger World Cup success adding yet another category to an extraordinarily varied international career.
For McDonald, though, second place hardly told the full story. Fastest qualifier, fastest rider in Race One and very nearly the winner, the young Australian had already demonstrated that his Silverstone speed was serious.
Bagger World Cup Race One Results
 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Pos
|
Rider | Bike |
TIme/Gap
|
|
1
|
B. Smith
|
HD
|
15m10.265
|
|
2
|
A. Mcdonald
|
HD
|
+0.112
|
|
3
|
E. Granado
|
HD
|
+0.724
|
|
4
|
A. Iannone
|
HD
|
+2.433
|
|
5
|
J. Torres
|
HD
|
+2.578
|
|
6
|
M. Toth
|
HD
|
+11.113
|
|
7
|
J. Lewis
|
HD
|
+16.718
|
|
8
|
T. Wyman
|
HD
|
+29.887
|
|
9
|
F. Rovelli
|
HD
|
+32.417
|
|
10
|
O. Gutierrez
|
HD
|
+45.001
|
|
DNS
|
D. Ekky Pratama
|
HD
|
DNS
|
Bagger World Cup Race Two
McDonald makes sure of it in Race Two
Archie McDonald had come within 0.112 seconds of victory on Saturday. On Sunday he made certain there would be no repeat.
Launching from pole, McDonald grabbed the lead immediately and remained there for every one of the seven laps, but championship leader Eric Granado ensured the Australian could never relax.
Granado was only 0.137 seconds behind at the end of lap two and remained glued to McDonald’s rear wheel as the pair steadily pulled clear of the chasing pack.
Five laps into the race, the margin was still only 0.177 seconds.
McDonald responded with his quickest lap of the race on lap six, a 2m09.868s, stretching his advantage to 0.407 seconds. Granado could find no answer on the final lap and McDonald crossed the line 0.757 seconds clear to claim his second Bagger World Cup victory.
Granado actually stole fastest-lap honours with a 2m09.847s, only 0.021 seconds quicker than McDonald, illustrating just how closely matched the pair were. The key difference was that McDonald had controlled the race from the front throughout.
Jordi Torres completed a superb afternoon for Joe Rascal Racing by taking third and giving the Australian-owned squad a clean sweep of the podium.
Oscar Gutiérrez finished fourth ahead of Saturday winner Bradley Smith and Andrea Iannone, while American youngster Maxwell Toth took seventh on his Bagger World Cup debut.
McDonald’s victory was his first since winning the championship’s inaugural race at Circuit of The Americas and carried considerably more significance than simply returning him to the top step.
Granado had entered Silverstone with a 14-point championship advantage over McDonald. By Sunday afternoon that margin had been slashed to just five.
Granado leaves Britain still leading on 147 points, but McDonald is now right behind him on 142, with Gutiérrez also still firmly in contention on 128.
Two rounds and 100 points remain available, and McDonald’s extraordinary rookie Bagger season is now developing into a genuine World Cup title challenge.
Bagger World Cup Race Two Results
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Rider | Bike |
TIme/Gap
|
|
1
|
A. Mcdonald
|
HD
|
15m13.752
|
|
2
|
E. Granado
|
HD
|
+0.757
|
|
3
|
J. Torres
|
HD
|
+2.164
|
|
4
|
O. Gutierrez
|
HD
|
+4.149
|
|
5
|
B. Smith
|
HD
|
+4.391
|
|
6
|
A. Iannone
|
HD
|
+5.240
|
|
7
|
M. Toth
|
HD
|
+15.154
|
|
8
|
J. Lewis
|
HD
|
+19.959
|
|
9
|
T. Wyman
|
HD
|
+20.519
|
|
10
|
F. Rovelli
|
HD
|
+21.135
|
|
DNF
|
F. Rovelli
|
HD
|
DNF
|
Bagger World Cup Standings
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Pos
|
Rider | Nat | Points |
|
1
|
E. Granado
|
BRA
|
147
|
|
2
|
A. Mcdonald
|
AUS
|
142
|
|
3
|
O. Gutierrez
|
SPA
|
128
|
|
4
|
A. Iannone
|
ITA
|
97
|
|
5
|
J. Lewis
|
USA
|
88
|
|
6
|
F. Rovelli
|
ITA
|
79
|
|
7
|
C. West
|
USA
|
56
|
|
8
|
T. Wyman
|
USA
|
54
|
|
9
|
J. Torres
|
SPA
|
51
|
|
10
|
D. Ekky Pratama
|
INA
|
37
|
|
11
|
B. Smith
|
GBR
|
36
|
|
12
|
C. Wyman
|
USA
|
26
|
|
13
|
M. Toth
|
USA
|
19
|
Bagger World Cup Qualifying Results
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Pos
|
Rider | Bike |
TIme/Gap
|
Speed |
|
1
|
A. Mcdonald
|
HD
|
2m08.832
|
263.4
|
|
2
|
O. Gutierrez
|
HD
|
+0.646
|
264.7
|
|
3
|
B. Smith
|
HD
|
+0.783
|
261.5
|
|
4
|
J. Torres
|
HD
|
+0.951
|
258.3
|
|
5
|
E. Granado
|
HD
|
+1.622
|
257.1
|
|
6
|
M. Toth
|
HD
|
+1.895
|
262.1
|
|
7
|
J. Lewis
|
HD
|
+2.217
|
257.1
|
|
8
|
A. Iannone
|
HD
|
+2.436
|
260.8
|
|
9
|
D. Ekky Pratama
|
HD
|
+2.508
|
260.2
|
|
10
|
F. Rovelli
|
HD
|
+2.544
|
259.6
|
|
11
|
T. Wyman
|
HD
|
+3.327
|
258.9
|
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
