MotoGP Promoter Dorna Announces Exciting Off-Beat Partnership With Harley-Davidson

Saajan Jogia | Nov 18, 2024

Kyle Wyman #33 on a Harlet-Davidson Road Glide flies through the infield, Thursday March 9, 2023 during Mission King of the Baggers qualifying at Daytona International Speedway. Dtb Motorcycle Track Action 3 / David Tucker\News Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

The promoter of MotoGP, Dorna Sports, has announced an off-beat partnership with popular American motorcycle marque Harley-Davidson on the day following the Solidarity Grand Prix of Barcelona, where Pramac's Jorge Martin was crowned world champion.

Plans involving the King Of The Baggers series, where riders race on touring motorcycles, are being explored, though the details of a potential partnership remain undecided. The idea aims to leverage Harley-Davidson's strong American fan base to boost MotoGP's popularity in the U.S., while MotoGP's global reach could help Harley-Davidson expand into new international markets.

Harley-Davidson has a storied history in motorcycle racing, with notable success in the 1970s. Italian rider Walter Villa delivered an impressive performance aboard the Harley-Davidson RR-250, securing the 250cc World Championship title three consecutive times in 1974, 1975, and 1976. CEO of Dorna Sports, Carmelo Ezpeleta, said about the partnership:

"Harley-Davidson is a historic name.

"That's why we are very proud to now start a collaboration with Harley.

"We are still discussing the details and do not yet know exactly what the collaboration will look like. Harley-Davidson is of course very important in the US market. It is also an important market for us. Today is an important day for us."

Speaking on the mutual benefit for both parties, Dorna sporting director Carlos Ezpeleta added:

"It's now the starting point. They have an incredible community that we can benefit from. Harley can also help us in the United States and MotoGP can help them globally. We have a big footprint in Europe, but we are also in Asia and Japan. These are interesting markets for them. We are very happy that Harley wants to invest more in racing in the future."

In MotoAmerica's King Of The Baggers series, Harley-Davidson takes center stage with a heavily modified version of its Road Glide. At the same time, rival brand Indian Motorcycle is a formidable competitor. Revealing that Harley-Davidson wants to start something different through the partnership with Dorna, CEO Jochen Zeitz said:

"We had our first racing department in 1914.

"We wanted to create something unique and start racing with our touring motorcycles.

"That's why we want to explore possibilities together with Dorna. We are both big brands. I'm very happy about it and I'm sure there will be a lot of speculation, which is never a bad thing.

"When two global brands work together, it's a natural step. We won't talk about exactly what that will look like today. It's clear, of course, that a motorcycle belongs on the racetrack at some point. We'll try to make that happen."

He added:

"There are also many racing enthusiasts in the Harley community that we haven't really been able to tap into yet.

"So this is an opportunity to explore new avenues together. We have shown the bikes in Thailand, Japan and now in Barcelona. But you can only see them racing in the USA. Wherever we go, there is great interest in these bikes."