The inaugural round of the FIM Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup kicked off at the Circuit of the Americas alongside the MotoGP™ Grand Prix of the Americas.
The races were fiercely contested, producing the first-ever winners in the championship.
Archie McDonald (Joe Rascal Racing) won Race 1 on Saturday, while Oscar Gutiérrez (Niti Racing) claimed Race 2 on Sunday.
In Race 1, McDonald had a strong start, briefly lost the lead to teammate Eric Granado, but regained it after Granado made a mistake.
Jake Lewis finished second and Filippo Rovelli took third, rounding out the podium.
Race 2 saw McDonald and Granado leading early, but Gutiérrez steadily closed the gap and executed two clean overtakes to win.
Gutiérrez also set a new lap record for the category at Austin with a time of 2:12.348.
McDonald initially finished second but a penalty for track limit violations dropped him to third, promoting Granado to second.
Harley-Davidson praised the championship for its close racing, diverse riding styles, and global competition, highlighting the excitement and energy of the new series.
Archie McDonald called his Race 1 win “historic” and thanked his team and Harley-Davidson for the achievement.
Gutiérrez expressed satisfaction with his Race 2 performance, emphasizing patience, strategy, and focus in overtaking his rivals.
Following the opening round, McDonald leads the standings with 41 points, followed by Gutiérrez and Lewis with 33 points each.
The next round will be held at the Mugello International Circuit during the MotoGP™ Grand Prix of Italy from May 29–31.
