Kyle Wyman is the winningest rider in the infant history of Mission King Of The Baggers with 14 victories. He’s also leading the 2024 championship after his two wins at Daytona International Speedway, and he’d love more than anything to extend that lead with his 15th and 16th wins coming here on Saturday at Circuit of The Americas in front of its biggest audience to date.
“It’s an amazing opportunity for the whole series, for MotoAmerica, for Harley-Davidson, both the manufacturers to be here in front of this audience,” Wyman said in Thursday’s pre-event press conference at COTA. “I think if anybody has caught a glimpse of what we’ve been up to over here the last few years, they’ve seen that it’s produced some incredible racing and it’s a really great tie to the product that we sell here in America. So, I think it’s just such a good fit. For us to be here, I think it’s been a goal for a couple years for a lot of us. It’s been talked about quite a bit. But to make it happen and also to see MotoGP and Dorna embrace us so well, and help promote that we’re going to be here, is a huge deal. I think that speaks to what we’ve done and the importance of it in motorcycling. I’m just really appreciative for that vision they have to bring this into the fold and help us with the exposure and the coverage of it. From here, I think there’s a lot of really amazing things that could come out of this weekend. Now we’re here, we can finally go to work, go racing, have some fun.”
Wyman also touched on the differences between racing a Superbike and a Bagger when asked which was the more difficult bike to master. “I don’t know if it’s more difficult or easier,” Wyman said. “It’s just kind of similar. I think that most of us have a lot of Superbike background, so the development of the bikes has really been influenced by our background in Superbike racing. So, my goal from day one is to be able to turn the Road Glide into a Superbike. So, the style is kind of there, but we’re talking a ridiculous amount of torque, and no rider aids are allowed. So, like Troy (Herfoss) was alluding to, it’s really kind of a throwback to all of our backgrounds in flat track racing and Superbike racing. They’re only hard to stop if you get in too deep. A little bit more difficult to get them slowed down. I’d say the fun factor (on the Bagger) is a little bit higher.”
