Chris Fillmore Seeks Third Pikes Peak Title In 2019

Chris Fillmore and KTM have been a force to be reckoned with at the annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The hard-charging Fillmore burst onto the scene with his impressive victory in the Heavyweight division aboard the KTM 1290 Super Duke R in 2017 and followed that up with a Middleweight title aboard the KTM 790 Duke in 2018. His time of 9:49.625 in 2017 still stands as the fastest anybody has ever made it up the 12.4 miles and 156 turns of America's Mountain on a motorcycle.

On June 30, 2019, the former AMA Superbike and Supermoto racer will ride the KTM 450 SX-F Factory Edition in the Lightweight division during the 97th running of the prestigious event. Every year the competition gets tougher and tougher, so it will be no easy task for him and his team to claim a third consecutive class title, but it sounds like he's up to the task.

“For me, this year is an all-new challenge and a very rewarding experience with the KTM 450 SX-F Factory Edition,” Fillmore says. “These days, I don’t get to compete too much and I look forward to lining up at this event. There’s nothing like competing; it’s hard to replicate the feeling that comes from it and I’m just happy for the experience and thankful to KTM and each of the sponsors who allow me to do this.

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“As far as Pikes Peak, I feel like I’ve attacked the mountain kind of backward as far as classes and learning curves go, but this year it’s back to my roots—Supermoto is where I got started in my professional racing career—and it’s nostalgic to be on this bike. It’s been an enjoyable process working with KTM’s Factory Racing department, just learning the capability of the motorcycle, testing parts, and preparing for the event. I’m really looking forward to racing up the mountain for the third time this Sunday.”

For official race results and timing, make sure to follow the race at ppihc.org, or you can download the app and listen to live scoring and results at https://live.sporthive.com/event/5970/App.