MotoGP legend Andrea Iannone is ‘ready’ to race in the Harley-Davidson World Cup in 2026

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Andrea Iannone was once a hot prospect in the MotoGP paddock and may have found a way to return for the 2026 season.

At the end of the 2019 MotoGP Championship, Andrea Iannone was banned from racing for four years after being found guilty of violating an anti-doping rule.

The Italian rider was racing for Aprilia at the time of the incident, and had previously raced for Ducati and Suzuki since he joined the class in 2013.

Since his ban ended, Iannone has been a front-runner in the World Superbike paddock with the Team GoEleven squad on the Ducati Panigale V4 R.

After losing his seat in the World Superbike Championship, Iannone may have found a way to get his foot back in the door in the MotoGP paddock.

Andrea Iannone to enter the Harley-Davidson Baggers World Cup

For the 2026 MotoGP season, there will be a new support class in the paddock as the inaugural Harley-Davidson Baggers World Cup will commence.

The newest move for ‘The Maniac’ was reported by Motosprint, who suggested that the former MotoGP rider would join the Cecchini Racing outfit this year.

Iannone would join the Italian team after his effort to launch his own World Superbike squad by the start of the 2026 season fell through.

The report by Motosprint says, ‘After trying to stay in the Superbike World Championship this year, Andrea Iannone ‘s future has taken a decidedly different turn and the Abruzzo native now seems ready to pack his bags (in every sense of the word, given that these bikes, as the name suggests, are equipped with side panniers) and head to race in the brand new Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup, which will take place within the MotoGP World Championship.’

What is the Harley-Davidson Baggers World Cup?

The new Harley-Davidson racing series in the MotoGP paddock will take place at six Grands Prix across North America and Europe.

The series will begin at the Circuit of the Americas for the Grand Prix of the Americas, and it will then also feature at the Italian, Dutch, British, and Aragon Grand Prix, before the season finale takes place at the Red Bull Ring in the Austrian Grand Prix.

During the season, the riders participating in the new series will compete on a race-prepared Harley-Davidson Road Glide motorcycle featuring a Milwaukee-Eight V-Twin 131R race-modified engine.

The Grand American Touring machines will be heavily modified to increase speed and agility as they will have custom-made chassis, suspension, and brakes.