K&N®-Sponsored MotoAmerica Superbike Racer Kyle Wyman Primed for Podiums in 2018

31 may 2018

Kyle Wyman has no shortage of determination. After a difficult end to the 2017 season, Wyman—of Kyle Wyman Racing—is already showing strong performance in the MotoAmerica Superbike racing series this year.

Kyle Wyman on his Yamaha YZF-R1

Wyman became a motorsports enthusiast at the early age of five—tearing up his parents’ backyard on a tiny Yamaha PW50. At only nine, he entered his first flat track race, and a passion for racing and competition was born. In 2004, he won the CMC Open Amateur Championship, which he followed up by winning the Ohio State Championship in the 505 Expert and Open Expert classes the following year. In 2006 (at only sixteen years old), he went pro in flat track—and finished 3rd overall in the Pro Sport National Championship. He continued his flat track racing career until 2009, when he received his Pro Road Racing License and began competing in the AMA Pro Supersport division.

In 2011, Wyman had his first professional win at the Daytona International Speedway, and went on to finish fifth overall in the Harley-Davidson Series Championship. In 2012, he founded Kyle Wyman Racing (KWR) and became the youngest championship-winning team owner with rider Michael Barnes. Following multiple podium and top-five finishes in the Daytona Sportbike Series and the Harley Davidson Series, Wyman moved up to the Superbike category in 2016, and proved himself a dedicated competitor with ten top-five finishes in his rookie year.

Wyman during a recent interview

Wyman is no stranger to the dangers of the track. In September of 2017, he survived a 150-mph crash caused by total brake failure during a practice run for the MotoAmerica Superbike season finale at Barber Motorsports Park. Luckily, the track was equipped with inflatable air fencing—a protective measure intended to shield riders from the concrete and steel walls surrounding the track. He walked away from the crash, but suffered a fracture in one of the vertebrae in his back.

The crash came at an inopportune moment—just after Wyman had achieved his first career Superbike podium finish at New Jersey Motorsports Park, and was feeling confident about his potential performance in the finale. After recovery during the off-season, he’s looking optimistically at the rest of the 2018. “I feel 100%. That’s in the past. I’m going for number one this year,” he commented.

Wyman isn’t leaving anything to chance, and is keeping all of his equipment in prime condition. He uses a High-Flow™ Air Filter (model YA-1015R) on his Yamaha YZF-R1 Superbike to help ensure excellent performance on the track. (The street version of the same filter is available for customers under part number YA-1015).

Kyle Wyman competing on his Yamaha YZF-R1

“For this year, K&N made a new air filter for the Yamaha R1—they took what was more of a flat filter and coned it out so there’s more surface area—and it’s giving us way better airflow,” Wyman observed. “Having a K&N filter in the bike is not only going to increase horsepower, but it’s going to give us a more consistent pickup of the initial throttle, so when the fueling is trying to adjust to all of these different things that are happening like ambient air temperature—the K&N filter has such consistent airflow that it gives us one less variable that we have to worry about during a race weekend.”

Wyman is currently ranked sixth overall following the Championship of Virginia at Virginia International Raceway in Danville, VA on May 6.

You can see Wyman compete on June 3, 2018 at the Dunlop Championship at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI.

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