Feel Pfeiffer's fire
Chinthana WASALA
He is a legend in Stunt Riding and a world champion. Sri Lankan fans
had the chance of seeing him in action last week. He is none other than
Christian Pfeiffer.
Although Motor Racing has captured the hearts of many fans in Sri
Lanka, Stunt Riding, a much different version of riding, is not that
much familiar among fans here.
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Pictures by Chinthaka Kumarasinghe |
When the media spreaded the story on the Stunt Riding World
Champion's arrival in Sri Lanka, the enthusiasts as well as people who
are not much familiar with motorbikes, began surfing the Internet and
various other sources. It was easy for anyone to get to know about the
award winning stunt man, Chirs Pfeiffer and some people were craving to
see him in action.
Last Saturday, over 12,000 fans watched him in action at the Town
Hall, Colombo and at the Parliament Ground thanks to Red Bull. Not only
the Colombo crowd, people from suburbs were also there to witness the
rare performance by a stunting legend.
The four-time World, European and Erzberg Rodeo Champion in Stunt
Riding started his affair with the motorcycle at the age of five on a
small custom made bike. He started off with Trial Riding at the age of
10 in 1980. Soon after, he started competing in tournament with the help
of his father who was also a rider who gave him all necessary back up
for the sake of his career. In the following years, he toured
successfully with his father to the competitions.
It did not take long for Chris to become the German Trial Champion in
the Junior division and later competed successfully in the German
Championships and the World Championships.
When asked about his switching to and keen interest on Stunt Riding,
the legendary stunt man gives a simple answer. "Usually the normal
riding heavily depends on the performances of the bike. If we consider
the performances in riding will rely on 80 percent on the bike and 20
percent on the ability of the rider. But when it comes to Stunt Riding,
the ability of the rider should be above 80 percent of the total
performance."
Chris who has performed in over 100 international shows since 1996,
never looks tired in entertaining large crowds. The large gathering at
the Town hall and Parliament Ground proved how his performance has
captivated the people.
Since 2000 Pfeiffer has turned into big street bikes and that has
changed the appearance of his shows immediately thereafter.
It is amazing how he controls a powerful 800CC motorbike like he is
riding a BMX. His main sponsors MBW and Red Bull have intensively backed
him up providing whatever support he needs. It was a rare experience to
see someone riding a motorbike which is named after himself. The Lankan
fans got that opportunity when Chris performed on his BMW F800R Chris
Pfeiffer Edition in front of them.
Apart from stunt riding, he is a simple man who likes to hang out
with his kids and wife. "They offer the fullest support to me to pursue
my career. But i do not think my children will follow my path. They like
me touring because at the end they are going to receive a present which
I bring from abroad" says Chris.
"I like challenges, entertaining people and will continue to do so
with new tricks added to my stunts list whenever possible" added Chris.
*********
Chris Pfeiffer
Home:
Halblech, Bayern, Germany
Date of Birth: April 20, 1970
First Motorcycle: 5 years old
Profession: Professional rider
Specialty: Stunting, Freeriding
Education: College with a dual major in sports and biology
Career Development: Amateur trial from 1980-1992, since 1993
freeriding and shows on trial bikes, since 1996 professional, since 2000
stunt riding on streetbikes.
Titles: 4-times Stunt Riding World Champion, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009
4-times European Stunt Riding Champion 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008
Winner Stuntwars 2006
4-times Winner Erzberg Rodeo, Enduro, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2004
Winner Eurosport Offroad Challenge 1996
German Trial-Pokal-Champion 1988
German Trial-Junior-Champion 1985
Records: Long jump (bunny hop) without a ramp over 33 people lying
next to each other
Bikes: Stunting: BMW F 800 R
Enduro: BMW G 450 X
Trial: Beta Evo 300 4T |
