On Sunday, August 17, Troy Herfoss was disqualified after winning Mission King Of The Baggers race two at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Mansfield, Ohio, when his S&S/Indian Motorcycle Challenger was found to be in violation of Section 2.3.10 of the MOTOAMERICA AMA ROAD RACING SERIES FIM NORTH AMERICA CHAMPIONSHIP 2025 REGULATIONS. Herfoss appealed the decision, and the FIM North America Appeal Stewards upheld the decision of the FIM North America Stewards, thereby denying Herfoss’ appeal.
With Herfoss’ disqualification, the results from Sunday’s race two are now official with each rider moving up a spot in the finishing order. Harley-Davidson x Dynojet Factory Racing’s Kyle Wyman has been declared the race winner over S&S/Indian Motorcycle’s Tyler O’Hara, who has been credited with second place. SDI Racing’s Cameron Petersen has been credited with third place.
The 2025 Mission King Of The Baggers Championship standings have been changed to reflect the updated results from race two.
The official notice of sanction is seen below.
Herfoss DQ 19191cd0-d66d-4fa2-93da-aba1da377e3e
More, from a press release issued by Indian:
A STATEMENT FROM INDIAN MOTORCYCLE:
Following Sunday’s King of the Baggers main event at Mid-Ohio, the Indian Motorcycle S&S Factory Racing #1 Indian Challenger was subject to a complete tear-down technical inspection. Based on the inspection, a technical sanction was issued against the team, stating that the Indian Motorcycle S&S Factory Racing #1 Indian Challenger was in violation of the official rules. The specific violation was the ballast material chosen to increase the weight of the bike to meet the 620 pound minimum weight requirement for the class. The result of this decision was a disqualification for Troy Herfoss from the main event on Sunday.
It’s important to note that our bike was not in violation of the stated vehicle weight requirement of the MotoAmerica official rules for the King of the Baggers class. In this instance, the vehicle weight was not what was in question. What was in question was the team’s material choice and use of solidified liquid aluminum in the installation of ballast required to ensure our bike met the minimum weight requirement.
It was, and remains, our belief that our team and the #1 Indian Challenger was in full compliance with the rules, based on the specific language of MotoAmerica’s official rules, section 2, article 3.10.B and we immediately appealed this decision.
For clarification, the rule reads as follows:
“The ballast must be made of (a) solid metallic piece(s) firmly and securely connected either through an adapter or directly to the main frame or engine with a minimum of two (2) steel bolts (min. 8 mm diameter, 8.8 grade or over). Other equivalent must be submitted to the Technical Director for his approval.”
To add the required amount of ballast the team installed a steel bar sealed within a solidified aluminum casing that is installed inside the frame using 2 – 12mm grade 10.9 bolts. Being that the material we used was metallic, solid, and bolted to the frame with bolts exceeding the listed requirements we feel we met the requirements for the ballast used and how it was attached. We also believe that our chosen form of ballast granted no performance advantages.
However, after further discussions with AMA/FIM officials during the appeal process regarding the specific nature, and language of the rule, the AMA/FIM has taken a position that the use of solidified liquid metal represents an inaccurate “interpretation” of the language of the rule and thus, has followed through with its technical sanction, resulting in the official disqualification of Troy Herfoss from Race 2 on Sunday.
While we are disappointed with this outcome and its impact on our success at Mid-Ohio, we respect the interpretation and ultimately, the decision of the AMA/FIM officials.
