It may seem like a long time ago, but 2020 marked the beginning of a racing series that instantly captured the attention of curiosity-seekers, fans, and everyone in between. It’s the year that MotoAmerica invited a selection of participants to compete in a one-off race at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca—but it wouldn’t stay a one-off for long.
In 2021, King of the Baggers grew into a three-round championship, complete with factory teams fielded by both Harley-Davidson and Indian. Here in 2023, it’s now a full-fledged 14-race series blanketing the US during seven separate MotoAmerica race weekends. Love it or hate it, there’s no denying that the spectacle has drawn an incredible amount of attention in a short period of time.
That’s why it probably shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that MotoAmerica just announced a new partnership deal with MotorSport Vision Racing (MSVR), a major promotor of both bike and car racing in Europe. It’s part of the larger MotorSport Vision company, which owns and operates five circuits in the UK: Brands Hatch, Donington Park, Oulton Park, Snetterton, and Cadwell Park. It also owns Spain’s Circuito de Navarra as of November 2022, and is the commercial rights holder and promoter of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship.
According to the official MotoAmerica announcement, the terms of this agreement will see MSVR go through various stages to plan a King of the Baggers racing series at various venues across Europe. Evaluation of venues, events, and other factors will be taken into consideration in planning what will work best for the series on a completely new continent.
“The growth of the MotoAmerica King of the Baggers series has been phenomenal, and its popularity has brought a lot of new spectators to our championship and in turn a lot of those also become Superbike fans. Our relationship with MotorSport Vision Racing and Stuart Higgs makes them the perfect partner to help us get the MotoAmerica King of the Baggers to European race fans,” MotoAmerica president Wayne Rainey said in a statement.
"I have watched with great interest as the MotoAmerica King of the Baggers series has captured the attention of fans, the motorcycle industry and the media alike across the USA, with its totally unique, seen-to-be-believed motorsport spectacle. I am confident that we can develop the series to a new European audience and replicate the success already achieved,” added MSVR BSB series director Stuart Higgs.
Will SW-Motech France get properly involved in preparing a bike (or bikes) for King of the Baggers Europe once it gets off the ground? Since the American KotB series involves MotoAmerica racers, will the European series see existing British Superbike racers and/or World Superbike racers throwing a leg over these completely different machines to participate in the new series? Only time will tell.
