Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle factory rider Kyle Wyman scored a dominating win and topped an all-Harley-Davidson podium in the MotoAmerica Mission Foods King of the Baggers race on Saturday at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. Wyman led the entire eight-lap race on the team’s race-prepared Harley-Davidson Road Glide Limited motorcycle, crossing the finish line 8.03 seconds ahead of Vance & Hines/Mission Harley-Davidson teammates James Rispoli and Hayden Gillim. Team Saddlemen teammates Cory West and Jake Lewis finished fourth and fifth to complete a top five sweep of the race for Harley-Davidson Road Glide motorcycles.
“I’m so excited that we got our Harley-Davidson Road Glide motorcycle working so well today,” said Wyman. “This is my first win at Daytona since 2019, and this is such a special place, so a victory here is always special. We had a tough day yesterday, but the entire team just dug in and we had smooth sailing today. You can think of so many scenarios that could happen going into this weekend, but you could not predict either one of these days. It’s a nice way to end the weekend at Daytona. I’m ready to take this momentum to Atlanta.”
Breaking Records
On Thursday, Kyle Wyman topped King of the Baggers qualifying with a record-breaking best lap of 1:51.98 on the 3.510-mile Daytona road course. On Friday, Kyle looked strong in winning the King of the Baggers Challenge three-lap dash-for-cash race by 1.96 seconds. The Friday King of the Baggers race was a disappointment for the team, as both Kyle Wyman and his brother and teammate, Travis Wyman, retired with mechanical problems while leading the race respectively. Rispoli won that race on his Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Road Glide, beating his teammate Gillim to the line by 0.089 seconds. Factory Indian racer Tyler O’Hara finished third. Team Saddlemen racer Cory West Finished fourth on his Harley-Davidson Road Glide.
On Saturday, Kyle Wyman signaled that he was riding the bike to beat after demolishing his qualifying time with a new lap record 1:50.56 time in the warm-up session, going almost two seconds quicker around the course than anyone. In Saturday’s race, Wyman had a fast lap of 1:50.86 and was never challenged. Unfortunately, his teammate Travis Wyman was knocked out of the race early with a mechanical issue.
Round 2: FIGHT!
After two of 14 rounds in the 2023 MotoAmerica Mission King of the Baggers series, Vance & Hines racer Rispoli leads the championship with 45 points, followed his teammate Gillim with 36 points. Team Saddlemen Harley-Davidson rider Cory West sits third with 26 points, and Harley-Davidson factory rider Kyle Wyman is in fourth place with 25 points. Team Saddlemen’s Jake Lewis is tied for fifth with Factory Indian racer Tyler O’Hara with 21 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.
MotoAmerica King of the Baggers Race Results – Daytona Race 1
1. James Rispoli (H-D) Vance & Hines Racing
2. Hayden Gillim (H-D) Vance & Hines Racing
3. Tyler O’Hara (Ind) Progressive/Mission Foods
4. Cory West (H-D) Team Saddlemen
5. Jeremy McWilliams (Ind) Progressive/Mission Foods
6. Jake Lewis (H-D) Team Saddlemen
7. Hawk Mazzotta (Ind) Lloyds Garage
8. Kyle Ohnsorg (Ind) Roland Sands Design
9. Max Flinders (Ind) M3/Revolution Performance
10. Frankie Garcia (H-D) Team Saddlemen
MotoAmerica King of the Baggers Race Results – Daytona Race 2
1. Kyle Wyman (H-D) Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson
2. James Rispoli (H-D) Vance & Hines Racing
3. Hayden Gillim (H-D) Vance & Hines Racing
4. Cory West (H-D) Team Saddlemen
5. Jake Lewis (H-D) Team Saddlemen
6. Hawk Mazzotta (Ind) Lloyds Garage
7. Kyle Ohnsorg (Ind) Roland Sands Design
8. Jeremy McWilliams (Ind) Progressive/Mission Foods
9. Max Flinders (Ind) M3/Revolution Performance
10. Danny Eslick (H-D) Nowaskey Extreme Performance
The Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle factory team returns to action April 21-23 in the MotoAmerica Superbike Series at Road Atlanta in Braselton, GA.
