BMW Motorrad’s Chris Pfeiffer has successfully defended the Streetbike Freestyle World Championship in Zurich at the recent SWISS-MOTO Motorcycle, Scooter and Tuning Exhibition in Zurich, Switzerland. The 37-year-old German once again dominated proceedings aboard his BMW F 800, winning each of the four rounds, to retain the crown he won at the inaugural event in 2007. Second place went to Portuguese rider Humberto Ribeiro, while rounding up the podium was Sébastien Desbonnet from France.
Pfeiffer pitted his skills against 16 competitors from 12 different countries, and once again proved that when it comes to freestyle stunt riding, very few can get close to the BMW Motorrad man.
The victory in Zurich ensures that Chris’ name remains at the top of a sport he has dominated for many years. But even after performing at the pinnacle of his profession for 12 years, the man from Halblech, Germany, admits that he still feels the nerves ahead of a big competition. “I feel great, having retained the title I won last year. Because I was the reigning champion, there was a massive amount of pressure on my shoulders to perform again,” said Chris. “I’m extremely proud to have coped with that pressure and to have come through as champion again.”
After initial practice rounds, the contest consisted of two runs of four minutes each, with the best score counting. Having experienced stiff competition at last year’s event, Chris knew that he would have to produce an outstanding run in the final rounds to put himself in contention at the top of the leader board. And after pulling off some never-seen-before combinations, the job was done.
“I was delighted to nail the new combinations I was planning, in particular the new donut combo I had never attempted in competition. Then I tried some new wheelie combos that the crowd seemed to enjoy. In the end I managed to produce more tricks in a quicker time than anybody else, and for that I felt I deserved to win over the weekend,” said Chris.
Looking forward to the 2009 competition, Pfeiffer admits he would love to win a third consecutive title, but believes as time goes on, the competition will become tougher.
“Becoming champion can be seen as the easy part. But staying champion is difficult, and it won’t be long before the judges discover a young rider who is capable of winning!” he concluded.
Results:1. Chris Pfeiffer (Germany) – 167
2. Humberto Ribeiro (Portugal) – 160
3. Sébastien Desbonnet (France) – 156
4. Antonio Carlos Farias (Spain) – 147
5. Mattie Griffin (Ireland) – 146
6. Narcis Roca (Spain) – 142
7. John Den Ouden (Netherlands) – 141
8. Ricardo Domingos (Portugal) – 131
9. Balazs Herczeg (Hungary) – 129
10. Aaron Twite (USA) – 119
