Chris Fillmore Rips A Record Run Up Pikes Peak
Accustomed to hitting triple digit speeds on the
race track competing in the AMA Pro Supermoto and Pro Road Racing
Circuits, American racer Chris Fillmore took on a new course, the
Pike's Peak International Hill Climb, with stunning results. In his
rookie attempt in the historic competition, Fillmore piloted a
KTM 1290
Super Duke R up to the peak, beating the other contenders in the
heavyweight class to not only take first overall but also set a new
course record outright lap of 9.49.265.
World renowned for its treacherous ascent and dangerous course, the
Pikes Peak Hill Climb aka the Race to the Clouds, near Colorado
Springs, Colorado, was founded in 1916 by Spencer Penrose and this
year marked the 95th running of the event. At just over
12 miles long, the course starts at mile marker 7 at 9,390 feet and
ascends to the 14,115 foot peak as racers navigate through 156
turns. Climbing to that elevation not only affects the competitors
physically and mentally, but the thin air also diminishes the
performance of the internal combustion engines of the motorcycles
and vehicles that run the course.
Fillmore's exceptional debut at the mountain resulted in him
beating out the previous record of 9:52.819, which had been in
place since 2012 when it was set by Carlin Dunne on a Ducati
Multistrada 1200. Fillmore's impressive record breaking run aboard
his
1290 Super Duke R was accomplished with an average speed of
73.267 mph. It was a successful event for the Orange Brigade as his
KTM teammate Rennie Scaysbrook (also aboard a Super Duke) finished
second overall in the Heavyweight Motorcycle Class with a time of
9:57.712.
