After his fourth-place finish in Race 1 at Mugello, Andrea Iannone took the lead over his teammate Oscar Gutierrez to win what was his debut weekend in the new Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup category.
By Matteo Bellan / Corsedimoto.com
The Maniac He had only completed one test, at Misano, and had immediately shown himself to be competitive. On Monday, another day of testing took place at the Mugello circuit, where Iannone set the fourth fastest time. These additional kilometers will be useful for continuing to get to grips with his Harley-Davidson.
Iannone already within reach of the first few?
In the overall Bagger World Cup standings, the Abruzzo native occupies seventh place with 38 points, 35 points behind the leader. Archie McDonaldHaving missed the first round in Austin (USA), he is understandably behind, but there are still four races left (Assen, Silverstone, Aragon, and Spielberg) to climb the standings and perhaps challenge for the title. With two races per weekend, such a feat is far from impossible.
Iannone's participation in the Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup was announced on May 5th, after several weeks during which he hinted that a return to competition was imminent. His involvement in this new championship had already been leaked a few months earlier, but negotiations had subsequently stalled. Finally, he secured a place with the Niti Racing team and made his debut at the Mugello round.
Toprak Razgatlioglu would like to see him back in WorldSBK
Iannone's initial plan was to compete in the Superbike World Championship in 2026. However, after his split with Team GoEleven, he found no opportunities. He had contacts with the Australian team Advocates Racing and even explored the possibility of creating his own team to compete on the grid. He registered for the championship under the name of Cainam Racing Team ('Cainam' being 'Maniac' backwards, his nickname), but the operation ultimately failed.
Toprak Razgatlioglu, who raced against him in WorldSBK in 2024 and 2025, hopes to see him again in the production motorcycle championship:
"He's incredible on the bagger.", reports Motosan. “He rides it really well and even set the fastest lap in the last race. I’m a big fan of the Bagger World Cup, I really enjoyed watching the races and I’m genuinely happy for him. He’s still a fast and intelligent rider, even if he’s still a bit crazy. I think if he’d found a place in Superbike, he’d still be in the top five. I know this because I’ve raced with him and he’s always fast. I hope he finds an opportunity in Superbike.”
Andrea Iannone He will turn 37 in August and would certainly not be opposed to another opportunity in WorldSBK. Considering that Nicolò Bulega is not expected to be there in 2027 and that several changes are anticipated on the grid, a return cannot be ruled out.
For now, nothing concrete exists yet, but Razgatlioglu's wish to see The Maniac The move to Superbike could well end up translating into something tangible. The coming months will shed more light on the future of...Andrea Iannone.
Read the original article on Corsedimoto.com
Matteo Bellan
