Streetbike stunter Chris Pfeiffer has thrilled tens of thousands of fans around India on his BMW F800R.

Images copyright:Sundeep Gajjar/Red Bull

Pfeiffer tours India

German streetbike stunter Chris Pfeiffer has returned to India following his successful tour in 2010.

For two weeks the 2011 “Red Bull Chris Pfeiffer Street Tour” made its way across the country, with two trucks transporting the equipment just under 12,000 kilometres. The tour schedule took in a total of ten cities, thrilling tens of thousands of fans with freestyle tricks on his modified BMW F 800 R. The tour of India was supported by BMW Motorrad and Red Bull.

Last year Pfeiffer was cheered on by 35,000 fans, so the decision to make the 2011 tour even bigger and even more spectacular was a logical one. “As soon as you unload the bike, people go crazy,” he said, describing the enthusiasm of the Indian fans.

Motorbikes are the main form of transport in India and are also used as taxis or means of transport for entire families. The art of freestyle riding is also extremely popular there. For this reason, news of Pfeiffer’s latest tour spread like wildfire and even more fans came out onto the streets to watch the BMW star live – free of charge. Amazing scenes saw spectators climb power masts, roofs and trees to get a good view of the action.

The tour started on the streets of Calcutta, before heading to Jaipur, Delhi, Chandigarh, Coimbatore, Ahmedabad, Pune, Mumbai, Cochin and Bangalore. Pfeiffer was welcomed by a group of dhaki musicians in Calcutta, took a detour to Pataudi to meet Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan, and demonstrated his skills on a rickshaw on the streets of Jaipur. In Delhi he joined Indian motocross champion Maninder Singh Prince on his bike. The warm-up for the Cochin event featured the “Ghostriderz” group, which is made up of the best freestylers in India.

The show in Coimbatore will also live long in Pfeiffer’s memory. He was joined there by young Indian riders, keen to follow in the footsteps of their idol.

“They had blisters on their fingers from all the training they had done over the last few days since discovering they were going to ride in front of me. For the three riders, putting on a show with me was the best moment of their lives,” he recalls. The fans’ enthusiasm was not reserved for the official appearances: “We were followed by at least 100 motorcyclists on our way back to the hotel. When I opened the sunroof to wave out of our BMW, there was a real party atmosphere out on the road.”

The atmosphere was “sensational again” at the finale in Bangalore. “They treated me like a rock star again there,” says Pfeiffer. He was also greeted enthusiastically at the BMW Launch Party in Bangalore, where he thrilled guests with spectacular tricks, including a burnout on a BMW S 1000 RR.

Pfeiffer’s tour of India also provided a highlight for the local media. In Mumbai he was still giving media representatives interviews until late into the night. On top of all this, the German BMW star also made several films and gave numerous interviews for Indian television between appearances.

All images copyright:Sundeep Gajjar/Red Bull