The first FIM Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup has been run and won, with Australia’s Archie McDonald making history as the inaugural champion. Riding for the Australian-backed Joe Rascal Racing team, the 20-year-old secured the championship in the sixth and final round at Spielberg, Austria, in September.
McDonald came into the season finale leading the championship on 174 points; seven ahead of his Joe Rascal Racing team mate, Eric Granado, with Oscar Gutiérrez (Niti Racing) 26 points behind. After winning both races at the penultimate round, Andrea Iannone (Niti Racing) was also a title contender, sitting 27 points in arrears of the Aussie with 50 points on offer across the two races.
In the first of two races at Spielberg, McDonald took the holeshot ahead of Iannone, pushing polesitter Granado to third, but an incident between Granado and Iannone on the opening lap saw both riders crash. Despite these two rivals now being out of contention, the title fight would still go down to the final race after McDonald finished second behind Gutiérrez. But, with a 21-point lead, it essentially meant McDonald only had to complete Race 2 to claim the championship, regardless of Gutierrez’s finishing position.
Sunday’s finale saw Granado take the Race 2 holeshot and never look back. The Brazilian controlled the race from the front to claim his second victory of the season. Gutiérrez finished second, with Kyle Wyman (Wegner Automotive x KWR) completing the podium in third. McDonald crossed the line in eighth, but that was more than enough to secure the inaugural championship.
The result crowned McDonald as the inaugural Champion with 202 points, nine ahead of Gutiérrez with 193 points, while Granado completed the championship podium with 192 points.
“This has been such an emotional season,” McDonald said, referring to his brother, Toby, who passed away earlier this year. “After winning the opening race and, weeks later, seeing my brother pass away, it’s nothing I ever thought I’d experience. To say goodbye to him, say goodbye to my family, and go overseas to keep training and keep following this dream... it’s such a relief now that it’s paid off.
“I’m so sorry to my family and my friends that I left behind in Australia to focus on this goal. Now I’m going to celebrate with them and continue grieving, as I’ve put it in a hole in the back of my mind this whole time.
“I dedicate this completely to Toby. I love you and I miss you so much, and I keep my arms wide open to anyone who needs it. What my family has gone through is not a normal experience, but to have him on the back of my bike with me in those last few laps was the best extra weight I could have asked for in any race.”
Jeffrey Schuessler – Director of Global Racing Programs, Harley-Davidson: “We’re incredibly proud to celebrate Archie McDonald as the first FIM Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup Champion. Congratulations to him and the entire Joe Rascal Racing team on an incredible achievement. And just as importantly, thank you to every rider, team, partner and person who believed in this program and helped us bring it to life.
“This is only the beginning. Our ambition is to continue growing the FIM Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup with more teams, more riders, more races and new markets around the world, while creating even more opportunities for our dealers, H.O.G. members and fans to be part of it.”
