Chris Pfeiffer wins 3rd Stunt Championship

For the third consecutive year, Chris Pfeiffer has won the Indoor Stunt Riding World Championship.

Pfeiffer wins 3rd Title

For the third consecutive year, Chris Pfeiffer has won the Indoor Stunt Riding World Championship. Riding his BMW F 800 R, the German claimed the victory at the Swiss-Moto Exhibition in Zurich on Sunday 22 February 2009.

Hungarian riders Balasz Herzceg and Zoltan Angyal finished in second and third places respectively. In the absence of an international outdoor championship for both continents, the Indoor World Championship is the world’s most important event in sports stunt riding. At this prestigious annual competition in Zurich, thousands of visitors gather to see the best stunt riders from all over the world perform their tricks. Furthermore, the organisers create a special surface for the event, coating the floor with 70 tonnes of the finest asphalt that allows the riders to perform at their best, safe in the knowledge there are no bumps, holes and scratches to create problems during their complicated tricks and combos.

With no adverse weather conditions to worry about, and a big crowd cheering on the competitors, the atmosphere at the SWISS-MOTO is always electric. As the reigning double world champion and title defender, Chris Pfeiffer was the hot favourite to take the victory again, but after picking up a nasty flu bug, his participation in the competition was uncertain. Unable to train properly during the first day of practice, Pfeiffer had plenty of time to notice that his rivals had all ‘upped their game’ and had seriously improved their routines, so an easy title defence for him was definitely out of the question.

During the first qualifying heat, Chris was struggling with his energy levels and ‘only’ managed to achieve third place on the score sheet. "I had to use a few hot tricks from my repertoire, because I just wasn’t feeling fit enough, but it was just about enough to keep me in contention" said the 38-year-old. And after gorging on a large slab of Swiss chocolate as a homeopathic energy booster, Pfeiffer’s second round of qualifying was just about perfect, as he scored maximum points from the judges. This brought him back up to joint first place on aggregate score, going into Sunday’s finals. As the last of the 16 semi-finalists to enter the specially created 50 x 15m wide ‘Action Area’ on Sunday, Pfeiffer was feeling good enough to show his best tricks.

However, about halfway through his routine, he crashed while doing a one-handed wheelie circle – a trick he invented called the ‘Touch-Ground Circle’. Chris was able to complete his routine with no other dramas, although he knew that points would be deducted for his mistake. With his legendary determination and the hope that he would not encounter any more bad luck, Pfeiffer went into the final, supported by his fans, family and thousands of spectators at the Zurich exhibition centre. He showed one trick after another – fluid, dynamic and as solid as a Swiss clock – and was duly awarded with the day’s best score by the five judges.

This was enough to give him the clear victory, and for the third consecutive time, Chris claimed the indoor world championship title for stunt riding.

"I was quiet before the finals started and just happy that I had the chance to do it all again on the BMW F 800 R," said Chris. "The atmosphere at the Swiss-Moto was amazing, so I just really went for it out there. When I’d finished my routine and waited for the scores from the judges, I had a feeling that I had done enough – and when I got the confirmation, I was overjoyed!"

"Without a doubt, this was the toughest of all three World Cup titles I have won, so this victory is the most enjoyable yet!"