The King Of The Baggers series returned to action last weekend and gave us some thrilling race action at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. Coming into Ohio, Kyle Wyman carried a scant 4-point advantage over Troy Herfoss in an epic Harley-vs.-Indian battle. Wyman’s Screamin’ Eagle Road Glide earned pole position in Ohio, but the Indian Challenger of Herfoss outdueled the competition in the Mission Challenge race.
Race 1 on Saturday saw Herfoss outsprint Wyman into Turn 1 to take the lead, followed by Wyman and Indian’s Tyler O’Hara. Wyman’s H-D teammate, James Rispoli, barged his way in front of O’Hara on lap 4 of 9, later followed by Vance & Hines riders Rocco Landers and Hayden Gillim.
Herfoss and Wyman had stretched a gap on the rest of the field, and their duel intensified with four laps to go when Wyman knifed inside the Aussie in Turn 10, only to lose the position as their lines converged in Turn 11.
Wyman later blamed front-tire grip struggles for losing touch with Herfoss, who stretched out a lead he held until the checkered flag, followed by Wyman and Landers. Gillim passed Rispoli on the penultimate lap, earning fourth place and logging a 158.6-mph top speed.
In Race 2 on Sunday, the event was shortened to six laps after a rain delay. Wyman took the holeshot and held the lead for the duration of the race. He was chased by Herfoss, Landers, and Gillim but never headed.
With four laps to go, Gillim made a charge past Rispoli but then had a big highside entering Thunder Valley, crashing out of the race. With debris and an injured rider on the track, the race was red-flagged, with Wyman, Herfoss, and Landers atop the podium. Kudos to 51-year-old Larry Pegram who subbed for the injured Bobby Fong and carded a pair of 8th-place finishes during his first time ever on a bagger!
Wyman’s 2-1 finishes gave him a 14-point lead over Herfoss as the KOTB series heads to Circuit of the Americas in Texas, September 13-15.
Super Hooligan
The Super Hooligan National Championship continues to grow, as evidenced by its packed grid of 33 riders. The SHNC held two races on Saturday at Mid-Ohio.
Race 1 saw Travis Wyman take a surprising holeshot over the field, but his time at the front sadly ended after the throttle of his Pan America seemed to malfunction. At the checkered flag it was an all-Harley podium led by Saddlemen’s Jake Lewis and Cory West, rounded out by the KWR Pan America of Hayden Schultz. The S&S/Indians of Tyler O’Hara and Troy Herfoss were sniffing Pan Am fumes, seemingly down on power compared to the Pan Ams, with West closing to just 1 point behind O’Hara in the championship standings.
The Indians performed better in Race 2, with O’Hara and Herfoss both landing on the podium, but everyone finished behind a resurgent Cory West, who galloped to victory and solidified his championship lead.
It was anything but a cakewalk for West, as he battled with a tight group of eight riders, including Herfoss, KTM’s Chris Fillmore, Travis Wyman, O’Hara, Lewis, and Cody Wyman. With 2 laps remaining, Herfoss threw a big move past West and into the lead, but this elbow-to-elbow action slowed them and allowed Fillmore to take the point position.
Then, headed into the Turn 6 braking zone on the last lap, West made an inside move into the lead and pushed O’Hara up to 2nd and Herfoss to 3rd. And that’s how they’d be classified at the checkered flag, with Cory West atop the championship standings, 147 points to O’Hara’s 143.
More information in the press release below.
Harley-Davidson factory racer Kyle Wyman Wins Sunday and Finishes Second Saturday at Mid-Ohio
MILWAUKEE (August 19, 2024) – Harley-Davidson Factory Racing rider Kyle Wyman scored his sixth victory of the season and maintained his points lead in the MotoAmerica Mission King of the Baggers series at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. Aboard a race-prepared 2024 Road Glide motorcycle, Wyman was the top qualifier and finished 2-1 in the double-header race weekend. RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson rider Rocco Landers placed third in both races to run his string of consecutive podium finishes to four.
“It was good get another win and keep the points lead,” said Wyman following the Sunday race, which was red-flagged after four laps following an incident involving RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson rider Hayden Gillim. “I thought we were going to have a battle with the Indian at the end today, but I think we are due some luck, so we’ll take it and carry our momentum to Circuit of the Americas.”
In the Mission Super Hooligan race series on Sunday, Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson rider Cory West took over the series points lead with a second-place finish in Race 1 and his third win of the season in Race 2 on a race-prepared Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 Special motorcycle. Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson rider Jake Lewis scored his third win of the season in Race 1, beating West and KWR/Harley-Davidson rider Hayden Schultz to the finish for an all-Harley-Davidson podium.
On Saturday, Wyman led from the pole position and battled with Factory Indian rider Troy Herfoss for the lead in the early laps. Close behind was a fierce fight for third place between Harley-Davidson Factory Racing rider James Rispoli, and RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson teammates Gillim and Landers. Wyman trailed Herfoss by 1.040 seconds at the finish. Landers claimed third place ahead of Gillim and Rispoli.
On Sunday the start was delayed by a brief rain shower and the race was shortened from 9 to 6 laps. Wyman led from the start, with Herfoss in close pursuit as the pair pulled away from Landers and Rispoli. On lap 4 Gillim lost control of his bike, which came to a stop on the racing surface causing the race to be stopped. The race was declared complete with Wyman 0.280 seconds ahead of Herfoss. Landers finished in third place and Rispoli was fourth.
“It was a great weekend for the H-D team all around,” said Rispoli. “Kyle did an amazing job keeping the points lead. We did a great job recovering from some lost time during the weekend. I felt comfortable in the race, and a podium was in the cards. Hayden’s incident and the red flag really scrapped that opportunity, but I hope he is OK. I can’t wait for COTA!”
After 14 of 18 rounds in the 2024 MotoAmerica Mission King of the Baggers series, Wyman has 282 points and a 14-point lead over Herfoss, with 268 points. Gillim is in third place with 189 points, followed by Factory Indian rider Tyler O’Hara with 182 points, Rispoli with 154 points, and Landers with 138 points.
After 8 of 10 rounds in the 2024 Mission Super Hooligan series, Team Saddlemen’s West leads with 147 points. S&S/Indian rider Tyler O’Hara is second with 143 points, followed by Lewis with 113 points and KWR/Harley-Davidson rider Cody Wyman with 105 points.
The Mission King of the Baggers and the Mission Super Hooligan series return to action September 13-15 at Circuit of the Americas in Travis County, Texas.
MotoAmerica King of the Baggers Race Results – Mid-Ohio Race 1
- Troy Herfoss (Indian) S&S/Indian Motorcycle
- Kyle Wyman (H-D) Harley-Davidson Factory Racing
- Rocco Landers (H-D) RevZilla/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson
- Hayden Gillim (H-D) RevZilla/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson
- James Rispoli (H-D) Harley-Davidson Factory Racing
- Tyler O’Hara (Indian) S&S/Indian Motorcycle
- Jake Lewis (H-D) Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson
- Larry Pegram (Indian) SDI/Roland Sands Racing/Indian Motorcycle
- Cory West (H-D) Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson
- Max Flinders (Indian) Mad Monkey Motorsport
MotoAmerica King of the Baggers Race Results – Mid-Ohio Race 2
- Kyle Wyman (H-D) Harley-Davidson Factory Racing
- Troy Herfoss (Indian) S&S/Indian Motorcycle
- Rocco Landers (H-D) RevZilla/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson
- James Rispoli (H-D) Harley-Davidson Factory Racing
- Tyler O’Hara (Indian) S&S/Indian Motorcycle
- Jake Lewis (H-D) Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson
- Travis Wyman (H-D) Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson
- Larry Pegram (Indian) SDI/Roland Sands Racing/Indian Motorcycle
- Cory West (H-D) Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson
- Max Flinders (Indian) Mad Monkey Motorsports
Mission Super Hooligan Race Results – Mid-Ohio Race 1
- Jake Lewis (H-D) Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson
- Cory West (H-D) Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson
- Hayden Schultz (H-D) KWR/Harley-Davidson
- Tyler O’Hara (Indian) S&S/Indian Motorcycle
- Troy Herfoss (Indian) S&S/Indian Motorcycle
- Cody Wyman (H-D) KWR/Harley-Davidson
- Dominic Doyle (Yamaha) Giaccmoto Yamaha Racing
- Stefano Mesa (Energica) Tytlers Cycle Racing
- Hawk Mazzotta (Indian) Roland Sands Racing
- Kole King (TRI) King Performance
Mission Super Hooligan Race Results – Mid-Ohio Race 2
- Cory West (H-D) Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson
- Tyler O’Hara (Indian) S&S/Indian Motorcycle
- Troy Herfoss (Indian) S&S/Indian Motorcycle
- Hayden Schultz (H-D) KWR/Harley-Davidson
- Travis Wyman (H-D) Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson
- Jake Lewis (H-D) Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson
- Cody Wyman (H-D) KWR/Harley-Davidson
- Dominic Doyle (Yamaha) Giaccmoto Yamaha Racing
- Stefano Mesa (Energica) Tytlers Cycle Racing
- Hawk Mazzotta (Indian) Roland Sands Racing
