You can take Chris Fillmore out of Mid-Ohio (for 10 years), but you can’t take Mid-Ohio out of Chris Fillmore. The former Michigander, now living in southern California, said, “I’m back home” as he climbed off his KTM DUKE Prototype after the first test session for the Mission Super Hooligan National Championship on Friday morning at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Resplendent in matte-black bodywork with just a hint or two of KTM Orange (the frame and wheels), the DUKE, whose engine displacement has not been revealed, has a pair of tiny KTM emblems on the leading edge of the fuel tank shrouds. But other than that and the recognizable “KTM design language” of the bike’s silhouette, it takes a somewhat sharp eye to pick out the bike on track. Part of that is because Fillmore’s speed on the prototype made him mostly a blur, save for the bright-white number 11 plates on the front and sides of the bike that have ID’ed Chris Fillmore over the past decade and then some.
The KTM employee, factory racer, and brand ambassador wasted no time during the 30-minute first session as he ripped his fastest lap, a 1:34.667, on just his sixth circulation around the 2.4-mile, 15-turn circuit. After the checkered flag flew on the session, Fillmore ended up third-fastest of the 30 Super Hooligan riders who participated in the MotoAmerica official test session.
For a prototype motorcycle, it proved its concept convincingly, and Fillmore and his orange-clad crew were pleased with the result. “This is a really good thing for KTM, and I think it’s really good for MotoAmerica, too,” Fillmore said. I asked Fillmore, other than shaking down the bike, what’s in it for him from a personal standpoint. “Trophies,” he said. “I can win the races and stand on the podium, but I won’t be getting any Championship points, and we knew that going in.” Because it’s a prototype, the bike has been given special permission to test on Friday and also compete in the weekend’s PERMCO Superbikes at Mid-Ohio race event, which consists of two races, with one on Saturday and the second one on Sunday.
Fillmore agreed that the points are moot, anyway, this late in the season, and with only the Circuit of The Americas left in the Mission Super Hooligan National Championship.
“We want to win,” Fillmore said, and it was echoed by his enthusiastic crew. After all, isn’t that the ultimate “proof of concept” that there is in motorcycle road racing?
For information on how to watch the MotoAmerica series, click HERE
