INTERVIEW I MOTOAMERICA STOCK 1000 & KING OF THE BAGGERS CHAMPION HAYDEN GILLIM
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than enough to wrap up the
Baggers championship.
"Me and James worked good
together, and the whole Vance &
Hines squad worked their butts
off. It was awesome to be able
to not only get the number-one
plate in Stock 1000 and bring
that championship home to the
Disrupt Racing guys but to turn
around the next race and win
Baggers for Vance & Hines and
Harley; that was amazing."
In fact, the furious last few
weeks of the season will forever
be etched in Hayden's mind.
"So, I won the Stock 1000
Championship at COTA, and
then the following weekend my
wife gave birth to our little baby
daughter. And then the following
weekend, we went and wrapped
up the King of the Baggers
Championship in New Jersey.
It was a big up-and-down year,
but the finish of the season was
nothing short of extraordinary."
As of mid-November, Hayden
doesn't have his plans all
settled for 2024. He thinks he'll
be back with Vance & Hines to
try to defend his Baggers title,
but beyond that, things are still
in the air. He enjoyed racing
MotoAmerica Superbike this
year as well, where he finished
eighth and scored as high
as sixth at Brainerd. Hayden
said it was important to keep
that unique feeling of racing a
Superbike fresh in his mind be
-
cause that's where he ultimately
wants to race.
"I grew up watching Superbike
racing back in those prime years
when there were so many good
riders and teams," Hayden says.
"I love to test myself against the
best road racers in America and
even some of the guys from the
world stage who come here to
race. Ultimately, I would love to
have a shot at that champion
-
ship on a top-level bike."
CN
A hug from the boss, Terry Vance, signals a season well done for Kentuckian Gillim.
