Hayden Gillim " Gets The Job Done At New Jersey Motorsports Park "
The 2023 Mission King Of The Baggers series came to a conclusion with Rounds 13 and 14 at the New Jersey Motorsports Park at Melville , NJ ., on September 23 and 24 . Only seven points separated Vance & Hines Mission Harley-Davidson teammates Hayden Gillim and James Rispoli going into Sunday ' s race two at New Jersey Motorsports Park , but the hugely anticipated showdown never really materialized because Rispoli ran off on the wet-but-drying track while leading early in the race . Though he didn ' t crash , the off-track adventure put him well back in the pack and he ended up seventh . That essentially handed the title to Gillim , but he still had to race , and he ultimately finished second to H-D Screamin ' Eagle rider Kyle Wyman who took the win the race after having a miserable weekend to that point - one lowlighted by his crash in the Saturday race , eliminating him from any chance of winning the championship . Third place went to M3 / Revolution
Wyman broke his own New Jersey Motorsports Park class lap record of 1:24.447 aboard his race-prepared Road Glide . That time would never be approached for the rest of the weekend as rain resulted in very wet to damp conditions on the 2.25-mile , 12-turn road course on Saturday and Sunday . Gillim ( 215 points ), Rispoli ( 213 points ) and Wyman ( 204 points ) were each in contention for the championship before the start of the first eight-lap King Of The Baggers race of the weekend on Saturday 23rd . As the riders completed a warm-up lap in the rain , Wyman lost control and slid off track . He was able to remount and start the race , but his motorcycle was damaged , and he retired on lap 3 . Gillim took the race lead on lap 3 and was never challenged as early leader Rispoli could not match his pace on the wet track and settled for second place , 9.10 seconds behind Gillim . Harley- Davidson Screamin ' Eagle factory rider Travis Wyman battled to finish in third
Max Flinders was a popular third in the Mission King Of The Baggers Race II , with the Brit earning the first podium of his MotoAmerica career . Photo by Brian J . Nelson
the championship , and that ' s the nextbest result for us . I want to send a big thanks to everyone at Harley who worked so hard for us this season , and we ' ll be back to get them next year ." At the conclusion of the 14-race 2023 MotoAmerica Mission King Of The Baggers series , Gillim won the championship with 260 points . Rispoli is second with 242 points , followed by Kyle Wyman with 229 points . Wyman won seven of 14 races on the season , with one additional podium finish . Jake Lewis rode a Team Saddlemen Harley-Davidson Road Glide motorcycle to seventh place with 126 points . Travis Wyman placed eighth with 112 points . The Mission King Of The Baggers series features race-prepared American V-
Twin touring motorcycles . Harley- Davidson Factory Team Road Glide motorcycles are powered by modified Screamin ' Eagle Milwaukee-Eight 131 performance crate engines . The team bikes also feature upgraded suspension components , including Screamin ' Eagle / Öhlins remote reservoir rear shocks , plus competition exhaust , race tires and lightweight bodywork .
Kyle Wyman ( 33 ) won the Mission King Of The Baggers season finale at New Jersey Motorsports Park , but the championship went to Hayden Gillim ( 79 ). Photo by Brian J . Nelson
Performance Indian Challenger rider Max Flinders whose popularity as a crowd and paddock favorite was underscored by the raucous celebration he received on the podium after the race . For Flinders , it was his first career MotoAmerica class podium . An excited Gillim said : " It ' s been one of , if not the best , year of my life ." With three race wins and eight additional podium finishes for the season he continued : " I ' m really happy to bring this home for Vance & Hines , for Mission Foods , and for Harley- Davidson . Next season will be a real scrap in this series . Honestly the field is stacked , and if everybody stays next year , it ' s going to be a tough championship to hold onto ." In the Friday qualifying session , place and scored his first podium finish of the season , just 0.40 seconds behind Rispoli . Kyle Wyman bounced back with his Sunday race win , opening a gap and stretched his lead to 3.724 seconds over second place Gillim at the finish . " After Rispoli went off , I just tried to be patient , not make a mistake and open a gap ," said Wyman . " I suppose a win in the last race sends a message . It really stings to come up short in the championship after winning the most races , but I ' m also proud of my race wins , proud of the team and what it has accomplished from a development standpoint , and that trickles down to the other Harley teams . His has been a crazy year , and obviously this weekend did not end as we hoped it might , but Harley-Davidson is one-two-three in
MotoAmerica King of the Baggers Race Results - New Jersey Motorsports Park Race 1
Hayden Gillim ( H-D ) Vance & Hines / Mission Foods / Harley-Davidson
James Rispoli ( H-D ) Vance & Hines / Mission Foods / Harley-Davidson
Travis Wyman ( H-D ) Screamin ' Eagle Harley-Davidson
Kyle Ohnsorg ( Ind ) Roland Sands Design
Bobby Fong ( Ind ) Sacramento Mile / SDI Racing / Roland Sands Design
Jake Lewis ( H-D ) Team Saddlemen
Max Flinders ( Ind ) M3 / Revolution Performance
Tyler O ' Hara ( Ind ) Progressive / Mission Foods
Frankie Garcia ( H-D ) Team Saddlemen
Patricia Fernandez-West ( H-D ) Team Saddlemen
DNF . Kyle Wyman ( H-D ) Screamin ' Eagle Harley-Davidson
DNF . Cody Wyman ( H-D ) Team Saddlemen
DNF . Jeremy McWilliams ( Ind ) Progressive / Mission Foods
MotoAmerica King of the Baggers Race Results - New Jersey Motorsports Park Race 2
Kyle Wyman ( H-D ) Screamin ' Eagle Harley-Davidson
Hayden Gillim ( H-D ) Vance & Hines / Mission Foods / Harley-Davidson
Max Flinders ( Ind ) M3 / Revolution Performance
Bobby Fong ( Ind ) Sacramento Mile / SDI Racing / Roland Sands
Jeremy McWilliams ( Ind ) Progressive / Mission Foods
Travis Wyman ( H-D ) Screamin ' Eagle Harley-Davidson
James Rispoli ( H-D ) Vance & Hines / Mission Foods / Harley-Davidson
Kyle Ohnsorg ( Ind ) Roland Sands Design Jake Lewis ( H-D ) Team Saddlemen Frankie Garcia ( H-D ) Team Saddlemen
Patricia Fernandez-West ( H-D ) Team Saddlemen
DNF . Tyler O ' Hara ( Ind ) Progressive / Mission Foods
DNF . Cody Wyman ( H-D ) Team Saddlemen www . AMDmag . com AFTERMARKET MOTO DESIGN - NOVEMBER 2023 27