Not since Mickey Thompson sketched out the concept for Supercross on a cocktail napkin has the racing world received such a shot in the arm… and at a time when a COVID sickened industry needs it the most! Impressario Rob Buydos announced the new Bagger Racing League on Monday at Chuckwalla Raceway.
This should have a positive impact at all levels of the V-Twin market, from the OEMs and aftermarket level through the distributors and the dealers that get involved with the Bagger Racing League. Proof of concept came when the one-off “demonstration” at Laguna Seca last year broke the Internet! According to MotoAmerica data, the King Of The Baggers was their best attended event of the season, even if it was virtually rather than in person:
• More than 225,000 linear TV viewers (Nielsen P2+) a 1.4x increase over round 9 in 2019.
• More than 1.3M digital views thus far a 6x increase over round 9 in 2019.
• More than 133M Facebook impressions and over 83M Instagram impressions Y-T-D.
Dealernews bagged an exclusive interview with Buydos back when the event blew up! Click here if you missed the King Of The Baggers "coverage" on the cover of November:
https://issuu.com/dealernews/docs/isuue__11_november/80
At the time, he hinted more was to come, but cautioned that it would require a creative approach to transforming a one-off demonstration into a full series… Apparently MotoAmerica didn’t agree and announced a five-round series held in conjunction with the 2021 MotoAmerica HONOS Superbike Series.
So, with support from Drag Specialties and a wide array of leading aftermarket companies, Buydos rolled out the Bagger Racing League in the SoCal desert and shared some of the things he believes are necessary to make this more than just a sideshow to MotoAmerica. Classes for Super Hooligans and Stunters and even an official artist in residence are just a few of the differentiators.
“As the Official Artist, I'll be painting, designing and historically documenting this exciting new racing format,” says the new league’s artist Eric Hermann. “Honored to be a part of Motorcycle History!”
We will catch-up with Rocket Rob when we can, but in the meantime mark your calendar for the Bagger Racing League first round June 25, 26, 27, 2021 at the Utah Motorsports Campus in Salt Lake City, UT. Follow along on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/BaggerRacingLeague/
Or register at:
https://baggerracingleague.com/