Granado takes lead in Bagger World Cup as McDonald salvages points at Assen

FIM Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup

Third round – Essen

The FIM Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup reached the halfway point of its inaugural season in Assen over the weekend, and the Dutch round made the title battle considerably tighter.

For newcomer readers, MCNews has already taken an in-depth look What makes the 280 kg, over 200 horsepower Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup bike so specialCovered the lead role of Archie McDonald in Early rounds in COTAAnd then when the young Australian went Mugello with the championship lead.

However, Assen was not a weekend where McDonald was able to attack from a position of strength. It became a weekend of damage limitation, and perhaps all the more revealing for that very reason.

McDonald’s disappointing Assen weekend

Angrily McDonald’s Assen campaign was compromised before qualifying had even started. In a major crash on Friday the bike spun out of control, forcing the Australian to eject, while the Harley-Davidson crashed into a fence and then over it.

McDonald later said that he honestly thought his weekend might be over when he realized that his gloves had been torn apart in the accident and that all five of his fingers were blue and had no feeling. X-rays came back clear, but the physical damage was obvious, as were the scratches from the accident.

After this the team worked through the night to rebuild the machine, but later another problem arose. McDonald completed the session without rear brakes, which is far from a minor inconvenience on these machines. On a 280 kg bagger, the rear brake isn’t just about slowing the motorcycle; It is a major control input for managing attitude, stability and direction.

Despite this, McDonald’s still ranks sixth.

Granado extends qualifying streak

Eric Granado underlined his one-lap pace again by putting the Joe Rascal Racing Harley-Davidson on pole with a 1m40.655s. It was his third pole in the opening three rounds of the season, confirming the Brazilian as the benchmark qualifier in the series.

Andrea Iannone was second fastest on the Niti Racing machine with a 1m40.970s, ahead of teammate Oscar Gutiérrez with a 1m41.413s. Jordi Torres led the second row from Filippo Rovelli and McDonald, while Dimas Aki Pratama, Travis Wyman, Jake Lewis and Corey West completed the ten-rider field.

bagger world cup race one

Saturday’s opening race featured a similar spectacle to that created for the Bagger World Cup, featuring big motorcycles, big horsepower and plenty of Dunlop on the Assen surface.

Iannone took the lead at the first turn from Jordi Torres, while McDonald made a strong start from sixth and immediately moved into podium contention. By the end of the opening lap, the Australian had moved into the race lead from row two, a remarkable reaction considering the accident, the reconstruction and his battered physical condition.

Iannone made a comeback on lap two, while Granado began to move forward after losing the lead early on. The Brazilian was in the lead by the end of the fifth lap and then took the lead in the decisive phase of the race, setting a new race lap record with a time of 1m41.093s on lap six.

As the race progressed, Gutiérrez also went from strength to strength, while Iannone and McDonald found themselves locked in a battle for the final podium spot. McDonald’s early pace was excellent, but as the laps progressed, his rear tire began to lose grip and so did his ability to hold off Iannone.

Granado ultimately claimed his first Bagger World Cup victory by 2.358 seconds over Gutierrez, with Iannone completing the podium 0.459 seconds behind.

McDonald finished fourth, 4.511 seconds away from victory, but still more than four seconds ahead of Torres in fifth. Jake Lewis was sixth behind Rovelli, West, Pratama and Travis Wyman.

bagger world cup race one results

Situation	rider	Bike	time/interval
1	E. Granado	every	15m22.982
2	O. gutierrez	every	+2.358
3	A Iannone	every	+2.817
4	A McDonald’s	every	+4.511
5	J. Torres	every	+8.837
6	J. Lewis	every	+12.061
7	F. rovelli	every	+15.883
8	C. West	every	+18.067
9	D. Ekki Pratama	every	+18.398
10	T. Wyman	every	+1m12.910

bagger world cup race 2

Sunday’s second race was a more controlled affair at the front, but still quite physical as the Baggers slid through the high-speed turns of Assen, with plenty of reverse lock dialed in.

Gutiérrez got the start he needed from the front row and led through the early turns, with Iannone second and Torres third. McDonald was fourth at the end of lap one, while Granado’s scrappy opening lap left the race one winner in fifth.

Granado soon moved up to third, overtaking McDonald and then Torres by the end of lap three. He then set the fastest lap of the weekend, 1m40.424s, which not only bettered his race one benchmark but also set a new Bagger World Cup lap record for Assen.

That lap took Granado within striking distance of the two Nitti Racing riders, but Gutierrez and Iannone had track position, and the Spaniard looked more composed than at any previous point of the weekend.

After five laps of running, Gutiérrez led Iannone by less than half a second, while Granado lagged behind by half a second. Torres had already been eliminated from the podium fight, while McDonald was now settling into a clear fifth place as his pace faded in the second half of the race.

Gutiérrez held the lead all the way to the flag and took his third win of the season by 1.154 seconds over Iannone. Granado completed the podium in third place, 2.049 seconds from the win, with Torres fourth and McDonald fifth.

Pratama finished sixth ahead of Corey West, Jake Lewis and Travis Wyman, while Rovelli was demoted to tenth after a track-limits penalty. Rowley was the fastest man in the speed trap in Race Two with a speed of 248.2 km/h, while McDonald was the fastest man after him with a speed of 247.7 km/h.

bagger world cup race two results

Situation	rider	Bike	time/interval
1	O. gutierrez	every	15m13.760
2	A Iannone	every	+1.154
3	E. Granado	every	+2.049
4	J. Torres	every	+4.271
5	A McDonald’s	every	+14.616
6	D. Ekki Pratama	every	+19.215
7	C. West	every	+25.028
8	J. Lewis	every	+25.401
9	T. Wyman	every	+27.168
10	F. rovelli	every	+27.566

bagger world cup standings

McDonald arrived in Assen with a slim championship lead, but left the Netherlands third in the standings after a weekend where the priority became banking points rather than chasing glory.

Granado’s win and third place moved him to the top of the standings with 111 points, just two points ahead of Gutiérrez with 109 points. McDonald remains firmly in the fight with 97 points, 14 behind Granado and 12 behind Gutierrez, with six races still to go.

Considering the size of Friday’s accident, the compromised qualifying session and McDonald’s physical condition in both races, fourth and fifth were significant rescue results. It wasn’t the weekend he wanted, but it was much better than the void he feared while waiting for a medical checkup on Friday.

After another double-podium weekend Iannone is fourth with 74 points, Lewis is fifth with 71 and Rovelli is sixth with 66.

The Bagger World Cup now heads into the European summer break before resuming at Silverstone on August 7-9, where the momentum of the championship has clearly changed, but the title competition is still wide open.

bagger world cup points

Situation	rider	Bike	score
1	E. Granado	every	118
2	O. gutierrez	every	114
3	A McDonald’s	every	113
4	A Iannone	every	85
5	J. Lewis	every	79
6	F. rovelli	every	78
7	C. West	every	67
8	T. Wyman	every	51
9	D. Ekki Pratama	every	47
10	C. Wyman	every	34
11	J. Torres	every	6

Bagger World Cup Friday Joint Practice

Situation	rider	Bike	time/interval
1	E. Granado	every	1m42.116
2	O. gutierrez	every	+0.965
3	A Iannone	every	+0.996
4	A McDonald’s	every	+1.767
5	D. Ekki Pratama	every	+1.793
6	J. Torres	every	+2.019
7	F. rovelli	every	+2.187
8	T. Wyman	every	+2.568
9	J. Lewis	every	+3.750
10	C. West	every	+4.471

bagger world cup qualifying results

Situation	rider	Bike	time/interval	pace
1	E. Granado	every	1m40.655	244.3
2	A Iannone	every	+0.315	240.5
3	O. gutierrez	every	+0.758	245.4
4	J. Torres	every	+1.088	242.1
5	F. rovelli	every	+1.344	247.7
6	A McDonald’s	every	+1.916	242.6
7	D. Ekki Pratama	every	+2.088	245.4
8	T. Wyman	every	+2.185	244.8
9	J. Lewis	every	+2.902	237.3
10	C. West	every	+3.545	243.7

About 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 major support championship on select MotoGP weekends in North America and Europe.

Bagger World Cup race bikes are built on Harley-Davidson’s Grand American Touring platform, which have been converted into purpose-built competition machines by Harley-Davidson Factory Racing.

Features every race-ready Harley-Davidson Road Glide:

• Milwaukee-Eight V-Twin 131R race-modified motor
• Purpose-built chassis, suspension, braking and electronics package
• Extensive weight reduction and aerodynamic developments
• Performance levels exceed 200 hp, top speed up to 300 km/h (186 mph)

Bagger World Cup technical rules here

Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup Calendar

1. Austin, USA: March 27-29
2. Mugello, Italy: 29–31 May
3. Assen, Netherlands: 26–28 June
4. Silverstone, Great Britain: 7–9 August
5. Aragon, Spain: 28–30 August
6. Red Bull Ring, Austria: September 18-20