2023 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship
Brainerd King of the Baggers
Images by Brian J. Nelson
Mission King Of The Baggers – Race One
A few hours after dominating the Steel Commander Stock 1000 race, Gillim finished seventh in the Medallia Superbike race. Not long after that he went out and also won the Mission King Of The Baggers race for Harley, beating Indian’s Bobby Fong by 2.5-seconds and his team-mate James Rispoli by eight seconds.
Gillim had his hands full early on with Indian Motorcycle/Progressive/Mission Foods’s Tyler O’Hara, who was leading when he had a mechanical problem that forced him off track and out of the race.
Hayden Gillim
“It is a real good day. I was chasing him (Bobby Fong) in the Superbike race, but he had a little bit of speed on me there and got it back. Pulled a little James Bond move. Gave him the smoke. Tried to keep him off of me. It’s been a really good day. I knew this track was going to be good for me. I just feel good here. Last year was really good on the 1000. I didn’t really know what to expect with the Harley coming here. It’s pretty crazy seeing how half the track Bobby (Fong) and Tyler (O’Hara) have a little bit of speed, and then the other half I can kind of pull a little bit back. At least I know for sure on Tyler I got to see him for a second Bagger Challenge. It’s been a really good day. To have another podium with James (Rispoli), another double podium for Vance & Hines, that’s what we’re here for. So, good job for the team and good job for me and my family. Never had two wins in one day, so this is pretty cool.”
Mission King Of The Baggers – Race 1 Results
| Pos | Name | Make | Diff |
| 1 | Hayden Gillim | H-D | |
| 2 | Bobby Fong | IND | 2.546 |
| 3 | James Rispoli | H-D | 8.019 |
| 4 | Kyle Wyman | H-D | 11.945 |
| 5 | Cory West | H-D | 18.580 |
| 6 | Jake Lewis | H-D | 18.733 |
| 7 | Kyle Ohnsorg | IND | 19.770 |
| 8 | Travis Wyman | H-D | 23.158 |
| 9 | Danny Eslick | H-D | 54.684 |
| 10 | Frankie Garcia | H-D | 54.783 |
| Not classified (75% = 7 Laps) | |||
| DNF | Patricia Fernandez-West | H-D | DNF |
| DNF | Tyler O’Hara | IND | DNF |
| DNF | Jeremy McWilliams | IND | DNF |
| DNF | 88 Max Flinders | IND | DNF |
Mission King Of The Baggers – Race Two
Mere minutes after he rode to a fighting fourth-place finish in the Medallia Superbike race on Sunday, Fong was out front of the Mission King Of The Baggers race.
And he was there to stay, riding his Sac Mile/SDI Racing/Roland Sands/Indian to a 1.5-second victory over Saturday’s race winner Hayden Gillim.
A day after a mechanical failure knocked him out of race one, Indian Motorcycle/Progressive/Mission Foods’ Tyler O’Hara caught and passed Gillim’s team-mate James Rispoli in the closing laps to take the final podium spot. Rispoli and H-D Screamin’ Eagle’s Kyle Wyman completed what for him was a lackluster weekend in fifth place.
With his win and runner-up finish in the two races, Gillim takes over the championship lead from Wyman and Rispoli, 175-173, with those two tied for second. Fong moves to fourth in the title chase, 45 points behind Gillim.
Bobby Fong
“No, trust me. I’d rather not do a back-to-back deal like that again,” Fong said. “It was definitely tough. But it was a good weekend for us. All of us got some wins this weekend. Tyler (O’Hara) got the win in the dash. I rate these two guys (O’Hara and Hayden Gillim) really high in my book. Like Tyler said earlier, the competition is stacked. We’ve all been working hard. These guys are smart. Racing with these guys, they think a lot and I can tell riding with these guys. They’re always thinking. They’re always trying different things. Like I said, the competition is stacked. We’ve just got to keep working and see what we can do at COTA in a month or two. I’m happy to be up here. Good pay day for us, as well. Looking forward to spending at the wedding in a year or so.”
Mission King Of The Baggers – Race 2 Results
| Pos | Name | Make | Diff |
| 1 | Bobby Fong | IND | |
| 2 | Hayden Gillim | H-D | 1.509 |
| 3 | Tyler O’Hara | IND | 4.753 |
| 4 | James Rispoli | H-D | 6.512 |
| 5 | Kyle Wyman | H-D | 12.033 |
| 6 | Jeremy McWilliams | IND | 15.387 |
| 7 | Jake Lewis | H-D | 19.203 |
| 8 | Cory West | H-D | 22.037 |
| 9 | Kyle Ohnsorg | IND | 23.870 |
| 10 | Danny Eslick | H-D | 41.020 |
| 11 | Frankie Garcia | H-D | 1:13.012 |
| 12 | Patricia Fernandez-West | H-D | 1:32.515 |
| Not classified | |||
| DNF | Max Flinders | IND | DNF |
| DNF | Travis Wyman | H-D | DNF |
Mission King Of The Baggers Standings
| Pos | Rider | Total |
| 1 | Hayden Gillim | 175 |
| 2 | Kyle Wyman | 172 |
| 3 | James Rispoli | 172 |
| 4 | Bobby Fong | 130 |
| 5 | Tyler O’Hara | 123 |
| 6 | Jake Lewis | 88 |
| 7 | Kyle Ohnsorg | 80 |
| 8 | Cory West | 79 |
| 9 | Jeremy McWilliams | 71 |
| 10 | Travis Wyman | 67 |
| 11 | Frankie Garcia | 42 |
| 12 | Patricia Fernandez | 31 |
| 13 | Max Flinders | 30 |
| 14 | Hawk Mazzotta | 25 |
| 15 | Danny Eslick | 23 |
| 16 | Kole King | 15 |
| 17 | Eric Stahl | 7 |
| 18 | Robert Johnson | 4 |
| 19 | Danny Spina | 3 |
