Gillim doubles up as Herfoss stays second in Baggers title chase

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Round Four – Road America

King of the Baggers

Gillim dominates Road America King Of The Baggers

Hayden Gillim’s Mission King Of The Baggers season continued to gather momentum at Road America, the J&P Cycles/Motul/Vance & Hines Factory Indian rider taking a clean sweep of the two championship races and leaving Wisconsin with a 25-point series lead.

The Road America round resumed the Baggers season after a four-week break following Road Atlanta, but Gillim looked as though he had never stopped. He broke into the 2m16s in qualifying, won Saturday’s opening race by more than two seconds, then backed it up with a more emphatic Sunday victory.

Aussie Troy Herfoss again played an important championship hand for Indian, qualifying second and finishing fourth in both races. Those results were not enough to trouble Gillim for the weekend honours, but they kept Herfoss second in the standings behind his team-mate.

Gillim resets the qualifying mark

Gillim started the weekend by raising the benchmark in qualifying. His Friday 2m16.842 was already good enough to set a new outright King Of The Baggers lap record, and he then improved again in combined qualifying with a 2m16.175 aboard the Indian Challenger.

Herfoss made it an Indian one-two on the grid with a 2m17.715, only 0.009s ahead of defending champion Kyle Wyman, who put the Harley-Davidson x Dynojet Factory Racing Road Glide third on a 2m17.724.

James Rispoli was fourth for Big Diehl x Harley-Davidson Factory Racing, ahead of Tyler O’Hara on the SDI Racing Indian and Bradley Smith on the second factory Harley-Davidson Road Glide.

Wyman takes the Challenge, Gillim takes the race

Saturday morning still gave Harley-Davidson something to celebrate, with Wyman winning the two-lap Mission King Of The Baggers Challenge and the $5000 winner-takes-all prize. Smith completed a Harley one-two in that short-format contest, while Gillim and Herfoss were among those listed as non-classified.

When the championship points were on offer later that afternoon, however, Gillim took control. Wyman made him work in the early stages, but Gillim found a way through and then broke the tow.

From there, the Kentuckian put his head down and stretched the race apart, setting the best lap of the contest with a 2m16.691 and winning by 2.213s. It was his fourth win from five races and extended his winning streak to four.

Wyman finished second, continuing his consistent podium form as he defends the number-one plate, while Smith completed the podium in third. Herfoss finished fourth on the second factory Indian, 13.832s from the win, narrowly ahead of O’Hara and Rispoli.

Rocco Landers was the sole DNF from Race One after completing two laps, while Maxwell Toth, Kyle Ohnsorg, Nolan Lamkin and Max Flinders rounded out the top ten.

Gillim completes the Sunday double

Race Two followed a similar pattern, although this time Smith got the better of Wyman in the Harley-Davidson intra-team battle. Gillim again had too much pace out front, but behind him the factory Harleys kept each other busy as Smith and Wyman fought for the remaining podium positions.

Gillim’s best race lap of 2m17.020 came early, and once he had the field under control, he built the margin to 3.707s by the chequered flag. Smith finished second, with Wyman third, 6.632s from the winner.

Herfoss again came home fourth, keeping his weekend tidy and protecting second in the championship. O’Hara was fifth, Rispoli sixth, Landers seventh, Lamkin eighth, Ohnsorg ninth and Flinders tenth.

Smith’s second-place finish also moved him to third in the championship standings, while Wyman’s pair of podiums helped steady his title defence after Gillim’s early-season surge.

Herfoss still second as Gillim stretches clear

Gillim now leads the Mission King Of The Baggers Championship on 132 points, with Herfoss second on 107. Smith is third on 91, ahead of Wyman on 77, while O’Hara sits fifth on 64.

That gives Indian the top two places in the championship, but Road America also showed Harley-Davidson still has significant depth. Wyman won the Challenge and finished second and third in the two championship races, while Smith’s 3-2 weekend made him the strongest Harley points scorer of the round.

For Herfoss, the Road America weekend was solid rather than spectacular. Fourth in both races kept the Australian well placed in the championship, but Gillim’s current form means any title challenge will require more than damage limitation from here.

Gillim, meanwhile, has become the clear reference point in the class. He had the qualifying pace, the race pace, and the ability to convert both into points. On one of the fastest circuits on the calendar, the Indian Challenger rider again made the biggest bikes in the paddock look almost conventional at speed.

Road America King of the Baggers Images by Richard Gergely

MotoAmerica King of the Baggers Race One at Road America - Image by Richard Gergely

MotoAmerica King of the Baggers Challenge Race at Road America - Image by Richard Gergely

MotoAmerica King of the Baggers Challenge Race at Road America - Wyman leads - Image by Richard Gergely

King of the Baggers Race One Results

Pos

Rider

Bike

Time

1	H. Gillim	Ind	13m48.566
2	K. Wyman	Hd	13m50.779
3	B. Smith	Hd	13m55.985
4	T. Herfoss	Ind	14m02.398
5	T. O’Hara	Ind	14m02.532
6	J. Rispoli	Hd	14m03.449
7	M. Toth	Hd	14m07.057
8	K. Ohnsorg	Ind	14m19.284
9	N. Lamkin	Hd	14m21.551
10	M. Flinders	Hd	14m51.860
NC	R. Landers	Ind	4m50.077

King of the Baggers Race Two Results


Pos	Rider	Make	Diff
1	Hayden Gillim	IND	13:50.208
2	Bradley Smith	HD	+3.707
3	Kyle Wyman	HD	+6.632
4	Troy Herfoss	IND	+11.384
5	Tyler O’Hara	IND	+12.945
6	James Rispoli	HD	+13.002
7	Rocco Landers	IND	+14.862
8	Nolan Lamkin	HD	+24.635
9	Kyle Ohnsorg	IND	+31.786
10	Max Flinders	HD	+37.778

King of the Baggers Challenge Race

Pos

Rider

Bike

Time

1	K. Wyman	Hd	4m40.785
2	B. Smith	Hd	4m43.318
NC	H. Gillim	Ind	4m57.767
DNF	T. Herfoss	Ind	5m46.368
DNF	J. Rispoli	Hd	–
DNF	T. O’Hara	Ind

King of the Baggers Championship Points


Pos	Rider	Total
1	Hayden Gillim	132
2	Troy Herfoss	107
3	Bradley Smith	91
4	Kyle Wyman	77
5	Tyler O’Hara	64
6	Rocco Landers	62
7	James Rispoli	62
8	Nax Flinders	33
9	Cory West	32
10	Jake Lewis	32
11	Kyle Ohnsorg	20
12	Nolan Lamkin	I5
13	Maxwell Toth	9