Bagger Race 1 at Aragon: Drama in the second lap – Iannone triumphed

The next round of the Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup took place at the fifth of six race weekends, this time at Motorland Aragon. The standings ahead of the race: Eric Granado (Joe Rascal Racing) led on 147 points, ahead of his team-mate Archie McDonald (142) and Oscar Gutierrez (128). In qualifying, the local hero struck: Gutierrez secured his first pole of the season in 1:56.587 minutes, ahead of his Niti team-mate Andrea Iannone and Granado.

A wild second lap: Granado crashes out of the race

At the start, Iannone got off to the best start and led through Turn 1. Behind him, 20-year-old American Maxwell Toth – the stand-in for the injured Cory West – moved up from sixth on the grid to third place. When Toth braked too late, Granado slipped past, whilst McDonald got stuck.

Then the race took a dramatic turn: on lap 2, Granado suffered a highside on dusty tarmac in Turn 4, causing him to lose control of his bike. Although the Brazilian was able to walk, he was taken to the medical centre as he had been struck by the machine, which weighs approximately 280 kilograms. Almost at the same time, away from the cameras, Iannone made a mistake, which Gutierrez capitalised on to take the lead.

There was further chaos on the same lap: Jake Lewis pulled out with technical problems, whilst Dimas Ekky Pratama crashed at the exit of the final corner. Travis Wyman spectacularly swerved to avoid the bike lying across the track. What had been a six-man leading group became a two-man lead for the Niti riders, followed at some distance by McDonald and Torres.

Iannone fights back and holds his ground in the final sprint

On lap 4, Iannone reclaimed the lead with a manoeuvre in Turn 15. Gutierrez countered a lap later, but was carried wide. From then on, the Italian consistently defended the racing line. McDonald closed the gap to four tenths, but lost ground again due to a mistake in Turn 14. On the final lap, Iannone – as he had done in his victory at Mugello – set the fastest lap of the race and won ahead of Gutierrez and McDonald. Behind them, Jordi Torres and Toth crossed the line.

The result has shaken up the standings: the Australian McDonald now leads on 158 points, ahead of Gutierrez (148) and Granado (147). Iannone, on 122 points, keeps his title hopes alive. Race 2 starts on Sunday at 8.55 am.