Andrea Iannone calls for Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner to try ‘Bagger’ racing
Fresh from winning on his Bagger World Cup debut, Andrea Iannone thinks Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner should give the booming V-twin racers a try.
Former MotoGP race winner Andrea Iannone took a win in the Bagger World Cup (BWC) last weekend, and now he thinks the MotoGP legends, Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner, should give it a go too.
Making Iannone’s Mugello win even more impressive is that the Italian only swung a leg over a bagger racer just days before the lights went out. And it seems that hustling an overpowered, air-cooled V-twin around a track has left a mark on Iannone, as he now thinks some other old-school racers should come and give it a go.
Driving that idea is the technological simplicity of the BWC, which features bikes with 2,152cc engines, massive power and torque, and very little in the way of aerodynamics or electronic aids. In Iannone’s eyes, that makes Stoner (who has long been critical of MotoGP technological advances) and Rossi (who was the last MotoGP racer to have competed in both the 500cc two- and four-stroke eras) to give it a go!
Speaking after the race, Iannone said:
“It's a beautiful championship. It's fun. A lot of slide, spin, wheelie. We don't have nothing in the bike. No electronics,”
“I think it’s possible for Casey to come back with this bike! Casey, do you want to come back with this bike?! We can do a little bit of a show together, please.
“We don't have electronic, no winglets, nothing… Casey, I'm waiting for you!
“With Casey Stoner, we can do a Legends race. Me, Vale… But I think it's only my stupid idea.
“I'm sure if you talk with other riders, nobody will do it. But never say never.
“But I propose one shot. A World champion in one race. Like [a] Go-Kart.
“We’ll do it in Phillip Island, Casey! Okay, one in Phillip Island, one in Mugello!”
Clearly, Iannone was still buzzing from his return to the top of the podium, but it does raise an interesting point. For many years, racers would step down from MotoGP duty and move to the World Superbike championship to race out their twilight years. But with World Superbike now looking more competitive and technologically advanced than ever, could bagger racing actually be the itch they want to scratch?
Currently, Iannone is the only former MotoGP racer competing in the BWC, although its rival championship, the USA-only King of Baggers, has tempted MotoGP exiles Bradley Smith and Loris Baz into the fray. Liberty Media is looking to boost MotoGP’s popularity in the US, and one sure-fire way to do it would be to entice some big names from MotoGP’s past over to the series.
Whether Rossi or Stoner ever takes him up on the offer is another matter entirely. But if bagger racing continues to attract big names and deliver the sort of sideways, elbows-out action Iannone enjoyed at Mugello, his "stupid idea" might not be quite so silly after all.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
