King of the Baggers
NJMP 2024 Finale – Race One
After only experiencing wet running during practice and qualifying t, the King of the Baggers combatants lined up on a completely dry grid for the opening contest of a two-race weekend that will decide the championship at New Jersey Motorsports Park.
Troy Herfoss was more than a second clear of Harley-Davidson Factory Racing duo James Rispoli and Kyle Wyman in a damp qualifying session, but the Australian had never turned a dry lap of the NJMP circuit before race one. The dash for cash that is the three-lap Challenge Race, where Hayden Gillim pipped Herfoss for the win, was held on a drying track but conditions were much better when they lined up for race one.
When the lights went out for the first nine-lap points-scoring race of the weekend it was a Harley 1-2-3 early on headed by Rocco Landers, Kyle Wyman in second and James Rispoli in third.
Hayden Gillim got a terrible start and was at the back of the field.
Herfoss squeezed past Rispoli for third place early on lap two and was quickly on to the tail of the two Harleys as the race started to take shape. Wyman challenged Landers for the lead on lap two but the youngster closed the door and prevented Wyman from taking the lead.
Landers was letting the back of the Harley hang out in a great display of aggressive riding on the 280 kg behemoth.
Troy Herfoss took second place from Wyman with five laps to run and immediately started to pull away from the championship leader.
Herfoss then reeled in Landers and was clearly faster than the Revzilla Harley rider through some sections, but Landers had his measure in other sequences. That pair had pulled away from the rest of the field, and it would be a two-man battle for victory.
Kyle Wyman was now more than two-seconds back and had Tyler O’Hara, James Rispoli, Bobby Fong and Jake Lewis right on his tail.
Landers led Herfoss at the last lap board but the Australian took the lead at turn one only for Landers to steal the lead right back on the change of direction. With a championship on the line Herfoss could not risk a DNF. Herfoss closed right up on Landers again with a few turns to go but the American had his measure and held on for the victory. Herfoss second.
“My crew chief worked so hard, and we’ve got such a good base setup that we really don’t have to tweak the bike a whole lot,” Landers said. “So, once I went out, I felt like the track was definitely a bit green. I will say that. I felt worse than I did yesterday in qualifying, even though it was half wet, half dry. I don’t think I really went much faster in that race. But a lot of people will say I tend to over-ride and slide maybe a little bit too much, and normally I disagree but that race was sketchy as hell. I was sliding everywhere. I felt like I was kind of on the edge. So, we might need to make a few small tweaks, just to make the thing hook up a little better and give us that confidence on corner entry. With that being said, I’ve said it a million times, these guys are such an honor to race against. It was an honor at the beginning of the year. They gave me so much advice. They’ve helped me a lot and helped me grow as a rider. To be able to battle with them is so sick for me. I really enjoy it. It’s like a dream.”
1. Rocco Landers – HD
2. Troy Herfoss – Indian +0.182s
3. Kyle Wyman – HD +2.997s
Kyle Wyman managed to hold O’Hara off to take third place and limit the advantage Herfoss will take into Sunday’s championship decider, Herfoss leading by two-points.
KOTB Race One Results
- Rocco Landers – HD
- Troy Herfoss – Indian +0.182s
- Kyle Wyman – HD +2.997s
- Tyler O’Hara – Indian +3.057s
- James Rispoli – HD +4.331s
- Bobby Fong – Indian +4.394s
- Jake Lewis – HD +15.786s
- Kyle Ohnsorg – Indian +23.811s
- Cory West – HD +25.829s
- Travis Wyman – HD +26.230s
KOTB Championship Standings
- Troy Herfoss 333
- Kyle Wyman 331
- Hayden Gillim 213
- Tyler O’Hara 211
- Rocco Landers 204
