Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/847300
FEATURE 2017 PIKES PEAK INTERNATIONAL HILL CLIMB P134 warm and I was hitting all my markers. I felt calm, and that's the best place to be when racing a motorcycle. By the end of the first sec- tion, I was up 1.5 seconds on Fillmore. But I knew he was much stronger than me in the next two parts of the track—Glen Cove to Devil's Playground and Devil's Playground to the Sum- mit. Sure enough, the skill of the former AMA Superbike pro shined through and he crushed me across the top, pulling out an 8.07 second gap on at the end of 12.42 miles of racing. To finish second is not what I signed up for, but I cannot be- grudge such an incredible per- formance from a guy I respect so much. Fillmore threw down harder than anyone in the history of this great race, crushing the lap record by 3.1 seconds to make his mark at 9:49.625, in- credibly finishing fifth overall out bikes and cars. I set a personal goal to get into the exclusive nine-minute club and I got there with a 9:57.712, the third-fastest time in motorcycle race history for second in the motorcycle division and seventh overall in bikes and cars combined. The run was smooth, clean and for the most part, unevent- ful. Just the way I like it. I had one front end loose at the penultimate corner before Devil's Playground and could hear the roar of the crowd but other than that, the run went as planned— and would have been a winner if it weren't for my fast-as-hell teammate! The mountain behaved itself for the motorcycle crew, every- one getting to the top safely and with no injuries for the first time in years. That made the event extra sweet as myself, Chris and Bruno, the top three for 2017, shared a trio of cold Coors on the top of America's most fa- mous mountain and watched the clouds roll in. The Parade of Champions ride back into Victory Lane was one I'll never forget. If I couldn't win I'm glad Chris did, and we pulled a quick 1-2 burnout to celebrate. Uli, Nate and Tom were ecstatic, as were Chris' justifiably proud father and stepmother. Unsurprisingly, the hangover was strong the next morning. I hope and pray I'll be back at America's Mountain. I still want to win this race and will do everything I can to get my Aussie ass on the grid for 2018. It's a race so unique and special to world motorsports, one streaked in the red, white and blue of this great nation. Here's to you, Chris, yours was a race for the ages. CN Cycle News would like to thank the following sponsors who helped make this event a reality: KTM North America, Pirelli Moto America, Oscar Solis, Rottweiler Performance, Super B Batteries, Airtech Streamlining, Alpinestars, Arai Helmets, Tagger Designs, Drive Systems, Superlite period at end. For all our Cycle News diary updates we did each day from the practice and race week, head over to our YouTube channel.