Bagger World Cup: Is MotoGP Sporting Director Carlos Ezpeleta satisfied?

In 2026, a new racing series – the Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup – was introduced as part of the MotoGP World Championship. This has replaced MotoE, which was part of the Motorcycle World Championship until last year.

The Bagger World Cup will be held this year over six events, each featuring two races. It kicked off at the end of March in Austin, after which the racing Harleys competed at Mugello and Assen. The next rounds will take place in August at Silverstone and Aragon. The overall winner will then be crowned in mid-September at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.

The first three race weekends are now behind us, meaning the new series has reached the halfway point of the season. SPEEDWEEK.com spoke to MotoGP’s sporting director, Carlos Ezpeleta, about his assessment following three events. How does he rate the races so far and the collaboration with Harley-Davidson? “They’re doing a good job at the racetrack. We’ve also sold more tickets for the Grands Prix to the Harley-Davidson community. We’re happy,” said Ezpeleta. “But this is only the beginning, and we’ll continue to develop the series together.”

In the Bagger World Cup, only Harley-Davidson motorbikes line up on the starting grid, which is why it is a single-brand cup. Could Ezpeleta envisage opening up the racing series to other manufacturers in future? One example is the King of the Baggers series in the USA, in which Harley-Davidson and Indian take part. “Our partnership here is with Harley-Davidson – for this period,” the Spaniard clarified. The American manufacturer’s contract with MotoGP was signed for three years – from 2026 to 2028.

At present, the field of riders in the Bagger World Cup is relatively small. At the first event in Austin, there were nine riders on the starting grid. At Mugello, former MotoGP and Superbike rider Andrea Iannone joined the line-up. At Assen, former GP rider and two-time MotoE champion Jordi Torres made his debut. At the start of August at Silverstone, British rider Bradley Smith will compete on a wildcard. How does Ezpeleta assess the series’ growth for the 2027 season? “As I’ve already said, it’s not a series made up of 20 riders. But it could be that we’ll have more riders next year.”

It is to be hoped that the Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup will continue to grow. The races are exciting and closely contested. The sound of the big V2 bikes is spectacular in any case.