Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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VOLUME 63 ISSUE 6 FEBRUARY 10, 2026 P125 subtlety, engendering tribal loyalties and desperate dedica- tion in much the same way as top-level football. And to them, support races in general have always had the same value and level of interest as an after- school playground kick-around. Just a distraction for the main event. Will this be as true for the Harleys as for previous at - tempts? The first such, in the Dorna era, was the so-called Thun- derbikes back in the 1990s. This was a one-make class on identical BMW twins, provided by the organizers, and a smat- tering of full-timers (including once Kevin Schwantz) mixed it with the gang. The racing was often pretty good, but it lit no- body's fire, and the series soon ran out of steam. More recently, the support role went to MotoE, which came to a premature end last season. This did serve the pur- pose of securing Dorna's rights to electric-bike racing, rather than leaving the door open to any rival should the series take off in the public mind. But it really didn't, and few will mourn (or even notice) its absence in 2026. The Harleys, however, are different. Harleys always are either the apotheosis of what a real motorcycle should be, or (to sportbike riders) the complete antithesis. They don't leave people unmoved. And racing them? Well, my AI research tool informs me that in the USA, the King of the Baggers series "has become immensely popular, a 'must-see' motorsport, which exploded in popularity since 2020." It does have the advan - tage of rivalry between Harley- Davidson and Indian machines, but that's probably not the crucial element in its appeal. It's the sheer unlikelihood of monstrous V-twins with (empty) hard luggage cases wobbling and roaring in super- close competition. None of MotoGP's finesse and nuance. And, in context, none the worse for that. Like monster trucks, bon - kers drag racing or heavily padded American footballers, that context is very American. In the rest of the world, and especially MotoGP's European heartland, it's pure novelty value. Not to be taken too seri- ously. Well, MotoGP's new owners, Liberty Media, are American, so this U.S. intervention should be no surprise. Liberty has also proved very adept in adding new levels of marketing skill to Formula One, massively in- creasing the audience of what is, by comparison to MotoGP (or to Bagger racing), a some- what dull spectacle. Could the Baggers turn out a similar boon to MotoGP? As a confirmed curmudgeon and old-school purist Grand Prix fan for more than five decades, I have my doubts, but I don't expect those of younger generations to agree with me. However, the current take-up looks rather thin. The latest addition of the Indonesia Niti Racing squad is only the fourth, joining Saddle - men Race Development from the U.S., Italy's Cecchini Racing Garage, and Joe Rascal Racing from Australia. No riders have yet been named, and while Joe Rascal is to field three, the other teams will have two apiece. This makes a grid of just nine so far. With the first of six races due in only a few weeks, on March 27 at the Americas GP at COTA, it's looking like a rather low-key launch. Well, it can only get bet- ter. Or fall off the twig unless Liberty and/or Harley (already supplying the all-identical bikes) make a significant further intervention. Money for more teams, for instance, drawing on the existing talent pool at home in America. And as for the value of clumsy but amusing novelty racing on lumpen touring bikes, in an arena where technical excellence and split-second differences are everything, well, we're in the post-truth era, apparently. So why shouldn't we add in some post-truth rac- ing? CN