There ' s no saying how much money Drag Specialties spent on creating the inaugural King of the Baggers race at Laguna Seca ( California ) in October , but it can ' t have been a trivial sum . However , as an investment into the future of the Bagger market , and as a specific stimulus for giving the burgeoning Performance Bagger market timely momentum , they are to be congratulated … Genius !

and vision for what can seem like an unlikely concept at first flush ( Baggers racing down the iconic " corkscrew " - really ?) goes back some 18 to 24 months before the race was eventually able to take place . Drag Specialties is said to have floated the plan to a couple of dozen of their vendors in total . Eventually thirteen of them lined up on the start grid of one of the world ' s toughest and most technically challenging motorcycle race circuits . The prize was the ultimate in Performance Bagger bragging rights during the MotoAmerica GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Speedfest weekend at Monterey in October . The outcome saw Indian Challengers claim two of the three podium spots as highly decorated motorcycle racing champion Tyler O ' Hara took the victory on the S & S Cycle Indian Challenger , with veteran rider Frankie Garcia taking third on the Roland Sands Design Indian Challenger . Hayden Gillim was the filling in the Indian sandwich , bringing the Vance

www . AMDchampionship . com

& Hines prepared Electra Glide Standard home in second , with Travis Wyman for Trask Performance fourth and Cory West for SLYFOX Performance in fifth . Barely 24 hours after an accident where he " looped " his 600 lbs machine during qualifying , Frankie Garcia rebounded to take the holeshot . But it was O ' Hara who immediately established a commanding lead through the first three laps . With five laps remaining , an off-track " adventure " sent O ' Hara back to third and moved Garcia up to second , allowing the Vance & Hines bike

said Gary Gray , VP Indian Motorcycle .

through for a taste of the lead before O ' Hara began a patient , methodical comeback , working his way past Garcia and dramatically passing Gillim while diving into the famed " corkscrew " during the penultimate lap .

O ' Hara held strong for the final lap , winning by 1.9 seconds and earning Indian and S & S Cycle the inaugural " King of the Baggers " crown . " It ' s an incredible honor for us to race on this historic track at this historic event , against a field of incredibly talented teams and riders ," said Gary Gray , Vice President , Racing , Technology and Service for Indian Motorcycle . " We ' re absolutely thrilled to come away victorious . Tyler , Frankie and the S & S Cycle and RSD teams did an incredible job and , ultimately , they were able to show the world just how special the Indian Challenger is . We couldn ' t be prouder of them or our bike ." The history-making was witnessed by race fans the world over as the inaugural King of the Baggers reached

AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - DECEMBER 2020 31