The man from Brazil

Brazilian motorcycle racer Eric Granado has embraced baggers and fallen in love with Joe Rascal Racing

Grand Prix racer Eric Granado has been involved with motorcycle racing almost since he could walk, winning his first race at six years old in his native Brazil, before moving to Spain in 2006 to progress his career.

After competing in the Brazilian Superbike Championship, winning the 2017 FIM CEV Moto2 European Championship and six years in MotoE, Eric was contacted by Chief Rascal James Tonna.

“I looked at what both Harley-Davidson and MotoGP were trying to achieve in the series, and then James explained his ambition for Joe Rascal Racing. His plan was extremely professional, and I thought if I joined the team I could be fighting for the win,” says Eric.

James was passionate enough to persuade this racing natural to make the switch from electric to growling V-Twins.

“I could tell that James was like me – he really aims for the top, so that is why I joined the team, despite having other opportunities I could have taken, thanks to my success in MotoE,” says Eric. “I’m really happy with the team; we are doing a great job and our success so far speaks for itself.”

Did moving from a MotoE bike to a bagger present a challenge for the young racer? “Not at all,” says Eric.

“The baggers aren’t that much heavier than a MotoE bike; you just need to change your riding style to adapt to the characteristics of the bike,” he explains. “Harley-Davidson really did a great job, and once you get used to the bike, you can really push it – it’s a race bike, after all.

“I really like that you can feel what’s going on with the bike due to the absence of rider aids like traction control. Obviously, it’s very physical racing such a big bike, but you can really control it with your throttle hand and start to push the performance to the limit. From my point of view, it’s a great bike to ride fast.”

The bikes also make the series very exciting for spectators.

“The sound is amazing and the racing is very competitive. These are real race bikes, and because they’re all identical, it’s up to the rider to make the difference. It’s a real fight on the track.”

This interview was carried out just before the second round of the Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup at Mugello.