BRL Europe - Round 1, Cremona, Italy, May 23-24
The four event/eight-race 2026 second season of the Motorcycle Storehouse backed Bagger Racing League European Cup got under way at the popular Cremona Circuit in northern Italy in May.
Fittingly for a series that former WorldSBK and MotoGP racer Ruben Xaus did much to bring into being, it was the Spanniard who took both the race wins to start his season with a double-header on his Ducati Diavel.
It was an intense weekend, marked by hot weather and even hotter battles on the track, further enhanced by an excellent turnout of spectators. Drawn by the unmistakable style and sound of the Big Inch Baggers they filled the paddock over the two race days.
A solid and determined performance saw Xaus take the win in a spectacular first race after a closely fought battle with Italian Andrea Tomio, second, also on the Ducati Diavel – one of three in the race (Swiss/Italian racer Marco Attanasio brought his home in fifth).
Xaus and Tomio put on an intense duel, establishing themselves from the very first laps as the benchmarks of the weekend, with Xaus taking the 8-lap race win by just 0.201 of a second in 13 minutes and 41.799 seconds. Tomio set the best lap time though in 1:41.726 with a top speed of 133.346 kmph.
Behind them, Antonino Pio Vecchio (Italy) took third, delivering a strong performance on his Indian Challenger despite finishing some 31 seconds behind the second placed Ducati. Dutchman Milan Merckelbagh was fourth with Vittorio Iannuzzo (Italy in sixth, both on Harley Road Kings. It was a disappointing Saturday for two other Harley riders with Japan’s Takeshi and Spain’s Sergio Martinez both forced to retire (DNF) and a A technical issue before the start prevented Italian rider Vittorio Nazzareno Lumina from starting (DNS).
The top 5 in Race-2 on the Sunday was an exact repeat of the Race-1 order but this time Vittorio Nazzareno Lumina, Scooped sixth, ahead of Takeshi and Martinez in seventh and eighth, all three on the Road Kings.
It was a high-impact debut for the Bagger Racing League European Cup, which in Italy confirmed all its potential in terms of show, technical level and public interest. The next round of the BRL Europe championship will take place on the weekend of July 11-12 at the Brno Circuit, in the Czech Republic, alongside the Alpe Adria European Championship.
After which the series moves on to the legendary Nürburgring on 5-6 September before the series concludes at The Circuito de Jerez in Spain on October 31/November 1.
