Herfoss delivers on promise as King of the Baggers champion
Crafty Australian wins final race of the 2024 season in New Jersey.
Image: Supplied.
An instrumental victory in New Jersey’s final race of the King of the Baggers season saw Australia’s Troy Herfoss crowned the 2024 champion early this morning, delivering on his promise as a rookie in the MotoAmerica paddock.
The triple Australian Superbike champion opted to leave the comforts of ASBK competition as the reigning champion at the end of last year, landing a unique seat with the S&S/Indian Motorcycle team in the US.
Herfoss, 37, had entered Sunday’s decider with a two-point advantage over Harley-Davidson Factory Racing’s Kyle Wyman, going on to storm to victory by 1.7 seconds ahead of teenager Rocco Landers (Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson) and Wyman, which was enough to convincingly seal the title by 11 points.
“It’s been an incredible journey,” Herfoss reflected. “Seriously, 12 months ago I was in this position in Australia and on top of the world, but didn’t know exactly what I wanted from racing moving forward. This incredible opportunity to come and race for a new motorcycle [brand] in King Of The Baggers came up.
“I wanted to step outside my comfort zone and that’s exactly what it was. I was extremely uncomfortable from the banks of Daytona through the world championship crowds at COTA, to the gravel trap at Brainerd, and to here, this moment winning a championship. It’s been a wild ride and an incredible journey.
“Kyle [Wyman] has been an amazing competitor, just a true professional in every way. He literally just kept himself in there on his bad days, and on the good days he made me pay. It was exciting, it was stressful… it’s a real highlight for me.
“Last year was a huge highlight for me, coming back from a big injury to win a Superbike championship in Australia, but I don’t know if I believed I could do this at the start of the year, so that’s why it makes it pretty special for me.”
For Herfoss it was his seventh win of the year and his 14th trip to the podium out of 18 races. He also finished fourth in the Super Hooligan National Championship, which concluded at Circuit of the Americas earlier this month.
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