Winning at Laguna Seca
The field of race-tuned baggers looked somewhat odd at Laguna Seca, but the racing was anything but. The racers whipped the bagger motorcycles around the racetrack with surprising speed. It’s safe to say King of the Baggers was a success.
Tyler O’Hara riding an Indian Challenger, only one of the bikes in the race from the company, managed to come out on top at the end of the race. He had to battle back from near the back of the pack and after going off-track at one point near the beginning of the race. He eventually won by 1.9 seconds, beating out one of the many Harley-Davidsons in the field.
O’Hara said this after the race, according to Visordown:
“It’s just so fun, like you said, being able to be part of this whole King of the Baggers. I haven’t seen people that excited about motorcycle racing in a long time. People were jumping up and down and hooting and hollering. It was just fun to put on a show with these guys. My hats off to everybody who rode a bagger this weekend because some of the bikes out there didn’t look too fun to be on. So, hats off to the team.”
I’m looking forward to seeing more of these races in the future, and I love that Harley and Indian will be duking it out around the racetrack.
This was great to see happen, and a lot of fun to watch! It’s a win-win for the sport, the OEM’s, and all those involved. Let’s hope they can agree on additional rules revisions that help to level the playing field so that this continues and flourishes as a Championship Series that attracts more builders, sponsors, and spectators! Additionally, I’m hoping “race on Sunday, sell on Monday” will come true for the OEM’s/Builders/Tuners, and that in-turn will spur H-D to subsequently step-up and upgrade the Road Glide (and the other Touring-platform models) to be more competitive with the Indian Challenger with it’s superior cast-AL chassis, single-shock rear suspension, USD forks, radial brakes, and liquid-cooled HP/TQ!
Kevin, it’s definitely a fun race to watch. I’m looking forward to more of these.
Wade, Copy and Roger that! This is exactly what MotoAmerica needs: a big shot in the arm with new and/or renewed interest from spectators, participants, and the industry, IMHO!