Chris Pfeiffer wins 2007 European Stunt Riding Championship
BMW Motorrad’s Chris Pfeiffer successfully defended his European Stunt Riding crown in Amsterdam, Holland, on 9 September, re-affirming his reputation as the best stunt rider in Europe.
BMW Motorrad’s Chris Pfeiffer successfully defended his European Stunt Riding crown in Amsterdam, Holland, on 9 September, re-affirming his reputation as the best stunt rider in Europe. The 36-year-old German rider won the three-round event ahead of Brazilian stunt rider AC Farias, who claimed the runner-up spot, and Spanish newcomer Narcis Roca who finished third.
The event took place on new tarmac at Amsterdam harbour and featured 37 of the best stunt riders in Europe. The first round of the competition consisted of a three-minute freestyle programme; a compulsory section, including the longest stoppie possible with limited acceleration-space; a slow-as-possible wheelie over 50 metres; and a ‘donut’ around a centre marking. The second round consisted of four minutes of freestyle, where Chris managed to take the lead, pulling off a brand new trick for the first time in competition – ‘switchback donuts’.
"This is a tough trick and I’d been practising it for a long time before showing it in public. You sit backwards on the tank – or airbox cover in the case of the F 800! It’s pretty hard to clutch in at high revs, as you need to get the rear wheel spinning," Chris said. "What makes it particularly difficult is that everything is back to front because of the way you are sitting, which makes operating the controls confusing, but it helped me take the lead in this round."
After round two the 12 highest ranked riders advanced to the finals, where they had six minutes to perform pure freestyle riding. Fortunately for Chris, his third and final run was his best of the day, impressing the judges to award him the victory. "This run was great – very energetic, dynamic and fast, without any mistakes, which took me to the top of the leader board. AC Farias, who seems to have improved his speed and dynamics, came second, while Narcis Roca filled third place on the podium. There was lots of interest as usual in the BMW F 800 stunt bike – from the crowd and of course the other riders – and it has been totally accepted in the freestyle world. It’s great to have retained the title!"
