Harley-Davidson® Factory Racing rider Kyle Wyman Earns Two Podium Results; Finishes Second in Championship

From a news release issued by Harley-Davidson:

MILWAUKEE (September 29, 2024) – RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson® rider Rocco Landers led every lap of the MotoAmerica® Mission King of the Baggers race on Saturday to take his second win of the season in the final double-header weekend of the series at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Milville, N.J. Landers was also the top qualifier for the event and notched his eighth consecutive podium result with a second-place finish on Sunday. Harley-Davidson® Factory Racing rider Kyle Wyman rode a race-prepared 2024 Road Glide® motorcycle to third-place results on Saturday and Sunday and finished second in the championship.

“I always want to win these races so badly,” said Landers. “Today it was so much fun to battle with these guys. I want to give a huge shout-out to the Vance and Hines team for putting me on a great bike again today.”

Landers led from the start on Saturday on the 2.250-mile, 12-turn New Jersey Motorsports Park road course. Early in the race a tight pack of riders including Landers, Wyman, Harley-Davidson® Factory Racing rider James Rispoli, and Factory Indian riders Troy Herfoss and Tyler O’Hara diced for position. On lap five Herfoss moved into second place, and he and Landers opened a gap on Wyman, Rispoli, and O’Hara. On the final lap Herfoss passed for the lead but was immediately overtaken by Landers, who led Herfoss by 0.182 seconds at the finish. Wyman was third, followed by O’Hara, and Rispoli.

On Sunday, it was Wyman getting the jump on the field at the start only to be passed by Herfoss mid-way through the first lap. Herfoss gradually opened a lead on Wyman and Landers, who battled all race. Landers passed Wyman on the last lap to claim second place. Herfoss crossed the finish line 1.733 seconds clear of Landers. Wyman was third.

“I will always fight to the end,” said Wyman, who came up 11 points short of winning the Mission King of the Baggers championship. “Troy rode a great race and I just didn’t have the pace today. I’ve had so many great moments this season. It has been the pinnacle of my career to represent Harley-Davidson and go up against number 17. We’ll be back to challenge for the title next season.”

For the 18-race season, Wyman won six races and finished on the podium seven times. Rispoli finished on the podium four times in his first season with the Harley-Davidson Factory Racing Team.

“It’s been an amazing journey with the team,” said Rispoli following the Sunday race. “We really grew a lot this season and had some great results. I’m super proud, and super humble, to be part of this team making Harley-Davidson racing history. We have picked each other up when we were down. We put blood, sweat, and tears into this season and I’m looking forward to next year.”

After completing the 18-round 2024 MotoAmerica Mission King of the Baggers series, Herfoss scored 358 points to claim first place. Wyman finishes second with 347 points. RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson® rider Hayden Gillim is third with 224 points, followed by Landers and O’Hara, also with 224 points. Rispoli is sixth with 196 points.

The Mission King of the Baggers series features race-prepared American V-Twin touring motorcycles. Harley-Davidson® Factory Racing 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.

Harley-Davidson® Factory Racing is sponsored by Mission® Foods, Rockford Fosgate®, Brembo®, Öhlins®, Protolabs®, SYN3® lubricants, and Screamin’ Eagle® Performance Parts and Accessories.

MotoAmerica Mission King of the Baggers Race Results – New Jersey Motorsports Park Race 1

1.     Rocco Landers (H-D) RevZilla/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson

2.     Troy Herfoss (Ind) S&S/Indian Motorcycle

3.     Kyle Wyman (H-D) Harley-Davidson Factory Racing

4.     Tyler O’Hara (Ind) S&S/Indian Motorcycle

5.     James Rispoli (H-D) Harley-Davidson Factory Racing

6.     Bobby Fong (Ind) SDI/Roland Sands Racing/Indian Motorcycle

7.     Jake Lewis (H-D) Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson

8.     Kyle Ohnsorg (Ind) RydFast Racing

9.     Cory West (H-D) Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson

10.  Travis Wyman (H-D) Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson

MotoAmerica Mission King of the Baggers Race Results – New Jersey Motorsports Park Race 2

1.     Troy Herfoss (Ind) S&S/Indian Motorcycle

2.     Rocco Landers (H-D) RevZilla/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson

3.     Kyle Wyman (H-D) Harley-Davidson Factory Racing

4.     Tyler O’Hara (Ind) S&S/Indian Motorcycle

5.     Hayden Gillim (H-D) RevZilla/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson

6.     James Rispoli (H-D) Harley-Davidson Factory Racing

7.     Bobby Fong (Ind) SDI/Roland Sands Racing/Indian Motorcycle

8.     Jake Lewis (H-D) Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson

9.     Kyle Ohnsorg (Ind) RydFast Racing

10.  Cory West (H-D) Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson

11.  Travis Wyman (H-D) Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson

Herfoss Crowned In King Of The Baggers Finale At New Jersey Motorsports Park

Troy Herfoss And Hayden Gillim Are The Final 2024 Champions Crowned In
The 2024 MotoAmerica Championship

From a news release issued by MotoAmerica:

MILLVILLE, NJ (September 29, 2024) – S&S/Indian Motorcycle’s Troy Herfoss removed any drama from Sunday’s title decider in the Mission King Of The Baggers finale at New Jersey Motorsports Park as the Australian made the race his own, crossing the finish line as the 2024 Mission King Of The Baggers Champion.

Although the pair were separated by just two points at the start of Sunday’s finale, the winner-take-all thriller between Herfoss and Harley-Davidson Factory Racing’s Kyle Wyman never materialized. Wyman got the start he wanted, led briefly and was soon passed by Herfoss. It didn’t take Wyman long to realize he didn’t have the same pace as his Indian-mounted rival, and it ended up being a tough day at the office for the winningest rider ind Mission King Of The Baggers history.

It didn’t get any easier for Wyman when he was attacked from behind by RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson’s Rocco Landers with the 19-year-old eventually taking second from the New Yorker. Wyman held on for third and he and Herfoss ended the season just 11 points apart.

For Herfoss it was his seventh win of the year and his 14th trip to the podium out of 18 races and he adds the King Of The Baggers title to his three Australian Superbike Championships. He crossed the line 1.7 seconds ahead of Landers after fist pumping his way through the final set of corners.

Landers, in turn, was just .119 of a second ahead of a disappointed Wyman.

Landers late-season burst of speed moved him all the way to fourth in the championship. He actually tied his teammate Hayden Gillim, fifth today, in the points tally, but the spot went to Gillim via the tiebreaker.

Fourth place in Sunday’s finale went to Herfoss’ teammate Tyler O’Hara, just a few tenths ahead of Gillim.

“Firstly, thank you,” Herfoss said. “It’s been an incredible journey. Seriously, twelve months ago I was in this position in Australia and on top of the world, but didn’t know exactly what I wanted from racing moving forward. This incredible opportunity to come and race for a new motorcycle (brand) in King Of The Baggers came up. I wanted to step outside my comfort zone, and that’s exactly what it was. I was extremely uncomfortable from the banks of Daytona through the world championship crowds at COTA to the gravel trap at Brainerd, and to here, this moment winning a championship. It’s been a wild ride and an incredible journey. Kyle (Wyman) has been an amazing competitor, just a true professional in every way. He literally just kept himself in there on his bad days, and on the good days he made me pay. It was exciting. It was stressful. It’s a real highlight for me. Last year was a huge highlight for me, coming back from a big injury to win a Superbike Championship in Australia. But I don’t know if I believed I could do this at the start of the year, so that’s why it makes it pretty special for me.”

Stock 1000 – Seven Is Heaven For Gillim

With a 12-point lead in hand at the start of the last Stock 1000 race of the season, Real Steel Motorsports’ Hayden Gillim didn’t have to win to be crowned champion. But he won anyway.

The win, his seventh of the year, combined with his rival Jayson Uribe finishing third on the OrangeCat BMW M 1000 RR, gave Gillim his second successive Stock 1000 Championship with this one coming on a Honda CBR1000RR-R SP – thus giving Honda its first-ever MotoAmerica title.

Second place went to Jones Honda’s Ashton Yates with the Georgian hounding Gillim for the entire race. Yates waited until the final lap to make a move on Gillim with a pass in turn one on the final lap. But it didn’t stick as Gillim re-passed him immediately. From there it was just a case of defending the inside and keeping Yates behind him.

Yates held on for second, just .049 of a second off the back of Gillim, and it was enough to earn him third in the championship.

Uribe ended a highly successful season of racing with a third-place finish as he narrowly topped FLO4LAW Racing’s Benjamin Smith on the final lap by just .030 of a second.

AMD Motorsport RK Racing’s Richard Kerr was fifth with the Irishman well clear of sixth-placed Bryce Prince on his BPR Yamaha YZF-R1.

“It means a lot,” Gillim said. “Haven’t had a weekend like this since Barber. Had a couple crashes and made it a lot harder on ourselves. Jayson (Uribe) was making us work for it. Ashton (Yates) was really getting it going here at the end. It’s cool to have Honda one and two and wrap up the championship for the Real Steel Southern Honda Powersports team. It’s cool to have the family and everybody here and all the fans. Thanks for sticking it out in the weather.”

Junior Cup – Chapin In A Thriller

On Sunday, it was the final race of the final season for the Junior Cup Championship as the class gives way to the inaugural MotoAmerica Talent Cup Championship in 2025. Two teams and four riders raced in close formation at the front, and who would win, who would reach the podium, and who would finish just off the podium were in question right up until they crossed the finish line.

BARTCON Racing’s Matthew Chapin, who won the championship two weekends ago at Circuit of The Americas, prevailed with the win by just .252 of a second over Bad Boys Racing’s Ella Dreher, while Dreher’s older brother Avery Dreher – who was this year’s defending class champion – crossed the finish line only .018 of a second behind Ella to take the third spot on the podium.

Chapin’s teammate Eli Block finished fourth, just missing out on the podium by .008 of a second.

“Oh, man. That race was really fun,” Chapin said. “I had fun battling with Eli, Avery, and Ella. They were all ripping. It was overall a great race. None of us really made any mistakes. It was really hard to close the gap to Avery at first. He was fast right from the start. I just want to give a huge thanks to (team owner) Colin Barton and (crew chief) Mike Skowronek for everything they’ve done for me this season. My mom and dad, and all my family and friends for coming out. Blud lubricants, KYT, Bison, thank you guys.”

Supersport – Jacobsen Ends It In Victory

With the 2024 Supersport Championship decided on Saturday at New Jersey Motorsports Park, title winner Mathew Scholtz was free to mix it up with the field on Sunday.

And mix it up, he did. It was “just like old times again” in MotoAmerica’s middleweight class as Strack Racing’s Scholtz and Rahal Ducati Moto’s PJ Jacobsen took their familiar spots at the front of the field and proceeded to swap the lead back and forth.

The situation stabilized in the middle laps of the race as Jacobsen established himself in the lead. The New Yorker then stretched his lead at the front and took the checkered flag nearly three-and-a-half seconds ahead of race runner-up Scholtz. Jacobsen’s teammate Corey Alexander finished third, almost 13 seconds behind Scholtz.

“Last night, I didn’t sleep too well,” Jacobsen said. “It was a hard race yesterday for me. I was really struggling, but we kind of went back to the drawing board last night and figured out some stuff that we saw on the data. I felt pretty good in morning warmup, and then, in the race, I felt really good, as well. I was actually surprised that (Mathew) Scholtz was there and made the pass. I was running mid-22s at that point. I was like, ‘Wow, this is pretty fast.’ But it’s been like that all season with him. I was happy to get the win here for the last race of the season and going into winter like that. Especially for the team itself. They worked so hard this first season. So, I’m really proud of the team and everything that they’ve accomplished. We didn’t get the championship, but we definitely fought pretty hard for it. We made some mistakes along the way as a team, also me as a rider. I feel like it was a really good season.

“Having Scholtz as a person to battle with all year, we used to talk more in Superbike and stuff, and I think all the stuff that drew to the competition. It was almost like UFC fighting. It was really good. At the end of the day, that’s how it should be. You don’t want to be laughing and stuff like that with the person you’re battling with. You go in there, and he has to pay his bills, and I have to pay mine. So, at the end of the day, he won a championship, and we’re not really friends on the track. So, I congratulate him and the whole team. Hopefully, he and I can start talking again and be friends. It’s been a long season. Congrats to them. I really enjoyed this whole season, even though it’s been super up-and-down. I had strong moments and bad ones. You look back and you learn from all that stuff. So, we’ll just move forward and get ready for next year.”

MotoAmerica: Altus Motorsports Results from New Jersey Motorsports Park

(Millville, NJ) MotoAmerica wrapped up the 2024 season at New Jersey Motorsports Park. It was a challenging year for Altus Motorsports, but the team showed incredible growth and resilience throughout the season. The team is already looking ahead to 2025, motivated and ready to come bigger and better than ever.

Jake Lewis had a strong showing in Race 1, finishing in 6th place. However, Race 2 proved more difficult, and he crossed the line in 12th

Jake Lewis: “It was a difficult final weekend for us in New Jersey. The weather was inconsistent all weekend and we just struggled for pace every time on track. It was a bummer to lose 3rd in the championship, but we can be proud of our season against some extremely talented competition. Thanks to the whole crew and Altus Motorsports team for the opportunity this season. I had a lot of fun and achieved good results. We will see what happens in 2025!”

Jaret Nassaney showed promise early in the weekend, qualifying 8th for the Supersport races​. Unfortunately, a highside crash in Race 1 resulted in a broken collarbone, preventing him from competing in Race 2​.

Jaret Nassaney: “Disappointing to leave NJMP in a sling and no results, but we showed that we can run with the front pack when everything works out. 2024 was tough, but I’m ready to put in the hard work this offseason and come back stronger next year.”

Torin Collins had a strong performance to finish out the season, finishing 10th in Race 1 and 11th in Race 2​.

George Nassaney: “This season was full of challenges, but I couldn’t be prouder of how our riders and crew came together. We had some tough breaks, but we learned a lot and grew as a team. I wanted to personally Thank Boyd, Rick, Murph, William, Nelson, Sean, and LJ for all of the hard work this season. Without them our riders would not have had the success they had. Jake, Jaret, and Torin competed every weekend at the highest level and I could not be more proud. The Supersport class is no joke. Lot’s of amazing talented riders make this class extremely tough. We are excited for 2025 and I’m already preparing for our team to come back stronger next season.”

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Altus Motorsports team is supported by our great family of sponsors: Altus Motorsports, WPS, Firepower, Suzuki Motor Corporation, Buy A Jet From Steve Main, Barnett, Evol Technology, Maxima Oils, Hot Bodies Racing, M4 Exhausts, Vortex EK, Motion Pro, SBS Brakes, BrakeTech USA, Inc., Pit Bull Products, GB Racing, Ohlins, K-Tech, Puig Racing, RS Taichi, Arai, Core Moto, Pro Bolt, Chicken Hawk Tire Warmers, Law Tigers Oklahoma, and Altus Factory Racing