Joe Rascal sign Archie McDonald to ride Harley-Davidson in MotoGP Baggers series
After a formative 2024 campaign split between Europe and the ASBK paddock, Archie McDonald has locked in a full international program for 2026, stepping into the Baggers World Cup that will run alongside selected MotoGP events.
At 19, Albury’s Archie McDonald is one of Australia’s sharpest rising prospects. He was on two wheels by the age of three, first ripping around the family backyard, then honing his craft on flat track before switching to road racing in 2019. This year he straddled the ASBK Supersport 600 and the FIM European STK600 class with Stop & Seal Racing and PS Racing, and he’s already made noise at home and abroad – most notably with a breakthrough win at Portimão on his birthday weekend in his first-ever international start last year.
McDonald’s 2024 season gave him a first real taste of juggling two continents: the logistics, the privateer grind, and the speed that kept people watching. In 2025 he levelled up again—on track and off. A mid-year European team collapse threatened to derail his momentum, but a late-season lifeline delivered redemption. Back home, with steadfast support from Stop & Seal, he missed one ASBK Supersport round due to Europe yet still fell just short of the title, edged by team-mate Jack Mahaffy – despite missing Round 3.
The 2026 Baggers World Cup represents a major step onto the world stage, placing McDonald in a paddock loaded with seasoned champions, with an experienced team manager and teammate who will be announced soon.
Speaking to AMCN, Joe Rascal CEO James Tonna said Archie’s big personality and talent make him a perfect match for the Joe Rascal brand on the world stage. The machines McDonald will be competing on are very high spec, with a single fully prepared racebike costing up to $600,000 including all necessary chassis and engine modifications, with a swingarm machined from a single piece of aluminium billet – though stricter tuning rules mean the engines cannot be rebuilt every race as in the AMA ‘King of the Baggers’ series. Archie’s first test on the bike is expected to take place in the coming weeks, with preparations for 2026 already well underway.
Next year marks the first truly global season for the World Series Baggers: new tracks, revised technical regs, and a host of unknowns. For McDonald it’s a chance to show the speed and racecraft on a stage with huge international exposure. The next chapter promises to be loud and fast – and unlike anything he’s done before. Two races per round will bring Baggers to some of Europe’s most iconic circuits, and is sure to provide some incredible racing with many big names competing alongside young up and coming talents.
2026 Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup calendar
- Americas GP – Circuit of the Americas (USA): March 27–29
- Italian GP – Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello (Italy): May 29–31
- Dutch GP – TT Circuit Assen (Netherlands): June 26–28
- British GP – Silverstone Circuit (UK): August 7–9
- Aragon GP – MotorLand Aragón (Spain): August 28–30
- Austrian GP – Red Bull Ring (Austria): September 18–20
