Austrian Brand KTM Motorcycle Races to American Flat Track Championship
As a “ready to race” company, it should not come as a surprise that the Austrian based company will eventually expand to the hotly contested sport of flat track racing too.
(Image taken from The Drive)
KTM Motorsports has announced their plan to go racing in the 2019 American Flat Track Championship. According to KTM, they have appointed former HMC KTM Factory Superbike racer and Brand Ambassador Chris Fillmore as the new Flat Track and Road Racing Team Manager to oversee its racing efforts in the United States.
(Image taken from Roadracing World)
“It’s pretty exciting to work on this new project to go racing in the American Flat Track Championship. We have the full support of KTM’s global motorsports team with Pit Beirer, Roger DeCoster, Ian Harrison and the Austrian R&D department, which provides a wealth of knowledge and experience behind us. Our goal is to use 2019 as a building year to create our structure and race team in the AFT Singles Class and the 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION is a championship-proven race bike and the perfect platform for KTM to engage with the new American Flat Track series. We’re well aware that KTM’s new 790 DUKE has the perfect power plant to compete in the AFT Twins class and we’re excited to see what the future brings in this new journey,” Fillmore said when asked for his thoughts on this new development.
(Image taken from Racer X)
The President of KTM North America John Hinz also said, “We have been following the changes happening to the racing in American Flat Track and the excitement it’s produced, so as a READY TO RACE company it was natural for KTM to want to be involved. I am proud to continue a long-standing relationship with Chris Fillmore as the new Team Manager for our Flat Track and Road Racing efforts. Chris has a history with KTM beginning in 2003 when he rode on KTM’s first SuperMoto team before leading our RC8R Sport Bike effort in Road Racing, and most recently setting the World record on a 1290 SUPER DUKE R at Pikes Peak. Chris has been working with the MotoAmerica RC Cup racers and is currently heading the Orange Brigade Road Racing Team with two young riders in the MotoAmerica Junior Cup, so we’re confident in his abilities to take on this exciting project.”
In 2019, KTM will have a race team compete in the American Flat Track Singles Class on the championship-proven 450 SX-F Factory Edition, while for the Twins Class the racers will be riding aboard the upcoming 2019 KTM 790 DUKE.
(Image taken from American Flat Track)
Flat Track Racing is America’s oldest and purest form of motorcycle sport. Highly competitive and adrenaline fueled, this sport features specialized motorbikes ridden by world-class motorcycling athletes. It is the pinnacle of dirt track motorcycle racing globally since the professional ranks were formalized as the Grand National Championship in 1954 and is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious and competitive form of dirt track motorcycling racing in the world.
Although the sport faded for a while as flat track and road racing became two separate entities in the United States, it soon made a comeback. Re-envisioned, re-branded, re-focused, American flat track racing became bigger, better and faster.
Results were spectacular; in 2017 alone, the race garnered almost 2 million viewers on television, while on social media platforms such as Facebook an impressive amount of 1.2 viewers tuned in to the live broadcast.
To add on to the momentum created in 2017, the American Flat Track Championship will be changing up some things to make the experience even more compelling. With a revised race format and festival-like attractions added to the event, the future of American Flat Track racing has never been more exciting.