King Of The Baggers 2024
Road America
Rain on Saturday saw the King of the Baggers become a one-man show as Troy Herfoss splashed away from the field, but nicer weather on Sunday saw the resumption of the two-man show comprising of Herfoss and Kyle Wyman. The American getting the better of the Australian by a nose in race two to give some Harley royalty much to smile about on their home turf.
Mission King Of The Baggers Race One
S&S Cycle/Indian Motorcycles’ Troy Herfoss was in another dimension in Saturday’s first of two Mission King Of The Baggers races.
The Australian was so dominant that he basically coasted across the finish line, with a margin of victory of 5.2 seconds after completely botching the final lap. Prior to the last lap, he led by some ten-seconds. It was easy. At least it looked that way.
Herfoss beat his championship rival Kyle Wyman, with the Harley-Davidson Factory Team rider inheriting second when his team-mate James Rispoli had a scary crash at the end of the front straight.
Third place went to Herfoss’s team-mate Tyler O’Hara, with the Californian holding off Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson’s Jake Lewis by just .355 of a second.
Troy Herfoss
“Because James (Rispoli) was so fast in warmup, and then in the challenge race he was also really strong. I saw on the screen he was second on the first lap at the end of turn two. I checked the screen. So, I was like, ‘okay, he’s going to come past at some stage, just stay safe until he does and then we’ll try and engage in battle.’ I come down the straight and there was so much water around and you’re going at 170 mph or something. I just kept seeing seven. I thought it was .7. Okay, he’s not on me. Just keep doing what you’re doing. He’s not one me. I haven’t heard the bike. On the last lap I poked my head up and I saw whatever it was, 10 seconds. Then I completely shit myself. I just froze up. I missed a gear on the way into turn one. Stayed in fourth gear. It’s just so nerve-racking out there. First and foremost, I’m just happy that James (Rispoli) and Hayden (Gillim), especially, are okay. That crash (Gillim’s)… when I came down after the challenge race and seen it, a 300-kilo bike next to a concrete wall and a stretcher rolling out and I couldn’t find a person, it just doesn’t feel good. We take a lot of risk to do this job. We’re lucky we got a lot of good people around us caring for us at the track. We’re as safe as we can be racing motorbikes, but in conditions like that, it’s really nice to get the win, but it’s really nice to be safe. I’m glad everyone is okay.”
Mission King Of The Baggers Race One Results
- Troy Herfoss – Indian
- Kyle Wyman – Harley +5.254s
- Tyler O’Hara – Indian +14.254s
- Jake Lewis – Harley +16.507s
- Cory West – Harley +20.227s
- Max Flinders – Indian +20.227s
- Bobby Fong – Indian +49.195s
- Rocco Landers – Harley +62.358s
Mission King Of The Baggers Race Two
With Harley-Davidson’s headquarters located just an hour south of Road America in Milwaukee, plus 91-year-old namesake Willie G. Davidson at the track along with thousands of H-D employees and also fans of The Motor Company, Kyle Wyman, aboard his Harley-Davidson Factory Racing Road Glide Special (signed by “Willie G.” just before the start of the race), rose to the challenge and won the drag race to the chequered flag over S&S/Indian Motorcycle’s Troy Herfoss. The Australian’s teammate Tyler O’Hara completed the podium in third, while Wyman’s team-mate James Rispoli finished fourth.
The margin of victory for Wyman was a slim .039 of a second over Herfoss, and he was more relieved than ecstatic that he won, since he faced the intense pressure and overcame it.
Kyle Wyman
“A hundred percent a must-win today. Usually, you have kind of two shots at it. Yesterday, I was not comfortable, so I didn’t feel like I really had a shot to fight for the win. I knew it was all eggs in one basket on Sunday. Troy (Herfoss) found something this morning. I was struggling a little bit. We made a small change for the race, just to try to get me a predictable bike. I knew it was going to be a scrap. I think we all knew nobody was going to get away, so just try to get me something that was comfortable to ride that I could kind of throw around where I needed to.
“Got a good start. The Gillim train in the beginning was a little erratic. I know he’s doing what he has to do. He’s a little bit down on horsepower, but I had some close calls with him, for sure. Got me sucked into the back-end of him a couple times. I thought we were going to touch wheels.
“Once Troy came up, he got through on me, and I just latched on. There were a couple of areas where he had a little bit of pace on me, but there were other areas where I could kind of reel him back. Like I said at COTA, I love a one-on-one. When I looked back, I guess these guys got kind of separated. I looked back and saw we had a gap to third. I was like, all right. It’s a mano-e-mano type of thing.
“I love it. I’m having the most enjoyment of my entire racing career, racing these baggers and especially this year racing Troy. It’s a fantastic challenge. It’s a fantastic rivalry and one with a whole lot of respect. I’m really enjoying it, as he is. I can’t wait to get back with my guys and celebrate because we got the ‘must-win’ done.
“I’m super thankful to the whole Harley-Davidson team. To have Willie G. out here in his homecoming year. They’re going to celebrate him at homecoming coming up here in July in Milwaukee. It’s a pretty special deal. Pretty amazing feeling.”
Mission King Of The Baggers Race Two Results
- Kyle Wyman – Harley
- Troy Herfoss – Indian +0.039s
- Tyler O’Hara – Indian +1.482s
- James Rispoli – Harley +1.529s
- Hayden Gillim – Harley +1.752s
- Max Flinders – Indian +15.839s
- Cory West – Harley +16.347s
- Jake Lewis – Harley +24.633s
- Travis Wyman – Harley +36.272s
Mission King Of The Baggers Championship Points
- Troy Herfoss 180
- Kyle Wyman 171
- Tyler O’Hara 111
- James Rispoli 92
- Hayden Gillim 85
- Max Flinders 71
- Cory West 61
- Bobby Fong 53
- Rocco Landers 50
- Jake Lewis 45
