Indian and Harley-Davidson Announce 2022 King of the Baggers Teams
After a wildly successful season debut, MotoAmerica’s King of the Baggers (KOTB) Championship returns in 2022. Indian and Harley-Davidson are ready to race for victory with their recently announced teams.
The American motorcycle manufacturers have brought high-caliber talent to their stables. Both teams have two riders, while Indian also supports four privately backed competitors.
Let’s take a look at this year’s team compositions.
The Indian Team
The first name of Indian’s team is familiar to those who have followed the previous competitions. Returning for his third year, Tyler O’Hara will pilot an Indian Challenger through the season. O’Hara won the inaugural 2020 KOTB race and placed second in 2021.
The second rider astride a Challenger is Irish Jeremy McWilliams. Making his KOTB debut, McWilliams began his professional motorcycle racing career in 1993 and is a four-time Irish Champion. According to Indian, McWilliams’ extensive technical knowledge will complement O’Hara’s more cerebral racing approach.
The Indian-supported Roland Sands Design team will feature the veteran racers Bobby Fong and Frankie Garcia, also riding Challengers. Fong has competed in flat track and superbike categories and won 2021 Road America 2. Garcia, meanwhile, placed third in the 2020 KOTB race and fourth in 2021.
The Saddlemen & Lloyd’z Garage team features KOTB’s only female racer Patricia Fernandez, who returns this year to chase the title of the Queen of the Baggers. Joining her is Cory West, whom we saw in 2020 and is making his debut with Indian. Fernandez will race a Challenger, while West will rely on an Indian Chieftain.
The Harley-Davidson Team
In Harley-Davidson’s stable, we find a pair of brothers on bikes. The H-D Screamin’ Eagle factory racing team consists of Travis Wyman and his brother—last year’s champion—Kyle Wyman.
In addition to winning the 2021 KOTB, Kyle is a veteran of flat track racing, having won the 2019 Daytona 200. Travis also has plenty of experience from finishing the 2021 MotoAmerica Stock 1000 series in second place. He scored fifth in the 2021 KOTB.
Both of the Wymans will take to the track in the saddle of a Harley-Davidson Road Glide. The bikes are powered by race-modified Screamin’ Eagle Milwaukee-Eight 131 Performance Crate engines.
In addition to their official team, the Motor Company will be supporting all competitors riding an H-D bike in direct collaboration with MotoAmerica.
Bigger Than Ever
The Indian and Harley-Davidson riders get to compete in a KOTB Championship that is bigger than ever. From a single race in 2020, KOTB expanded to three rounds in 2021.
This year, however, the competition will have a total of seven races. The first race took place already on March 10-12 in Daytona Beach, FL, in conjunction with the Daytona 200.
The next locations KOTB will be heading to include:
- Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta—Braselton, GA (April 22-24)
- Road America—Elkhart Lake, WI (June 3-5)
- WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca—Monterey, CA (July 8-10)
- Brainerd International Raceway—Brainerd, MN (July 29-31)
- New Jersey Motorsports Park—Millville, NJ (September 9-11)