Chris Pfeiffer

Christian Pfeiffer (20 April 1970 – 12 March 2022) was a German motorcycle stunt rider and multiple time world champion (2003, 2007, 2008 and 2009).[1][2] He was a four-time winner of the prestigious Red Bull Scramble (1996, 1997, 2000 and 2004) and he also broke many Guinness World Records during his 20-year professional career as a rider. He was also a four time European Championship winner (2004, 2006, 2007 and 2010).[3][1]

Chris Pfeiffer
Pfeiffer in 2014
Born(1970-04-20)20 April 1970
Weilheim-Schongau, Bavaria, West Germany
Died12 March 2022(2022-03-12) (aged 51)
Halblech, Germany
OccupationStunt rider
Years active1993–2015

Career

Pfeiffer inherited the passion for his motorcycle riding from his father at a young age and his father gifted him a modified bike when he was only five years old.[4] He learnt the art of freestyle biking stunts at the age of 10. At the age of 10, in 1980, he won his first ever trial race on a motorcross bike. He took up stunt riding to prolong his career in the mid-1990s.[5] In 1985, Pfeiffer won the West German national title at junior level in the motocross event at the age of 15. At the age of 18, he won the OMK Cup which is a German National Championship for B license holders.[6]

His most notable world record came in 1997 when he successfully jumped over 33 people lying next to each other without the use of a ramp.[7] In 1999, two years later he attempted to break his own world record but he suffered severe complicated fractures due to a technical fault.[8]

He played a key part in transforming the image of BMW in the late 2000s. He became a world champion for the first time in 2003.[9] In 2004, he pulled off a 115 degree wheelie during 'Stuntwars' contest held in Florida and his stunt surprised the viewers that how such stunt can be possible on a bike.[10][11] He became a European championship winner for the first time in 2004. He won the Florida Stuntwars in 2006.[12][13]

Chris Pfeiffer performs a stunt on the F800R

The BMW F800R was first introduced when Chris Pfeiffer started using the custom bike for his tricks. Pfeiffer first started using a BMW F800S in January 2006, and eventually transformed the S into an R model in order to lighten the weight of the bike and make it more suitable for motorcycle stunt riding. In honor of Pfeiffer, BMW started offering a limited edition of 68 Chris-Pfeiffer-Edition BMW F800R models,[14] which has custom paintwork and an Akrapovič exhaust.[15]

Chris Pfeiffer performs a stunt at the Grand Prix Automobile de Marrakech 2013
Chris Pfeiffer during the Grand Prix Automobile de Marrakech 2013

He travelled all around the world to complete and to promote stunt riding for free of charge. In his professional career, he travelled to approximately 94 countries.[16] During his visits to various countries, he had exhibited various stunts including high chair wheelies, no hand wheelies, stoppies, circular wheelies, rolling and burnouts.[17]

He remains the only person in history to have scaled the level three climb at Via Tina in Arco, Italy on his bike.[18] During his playing career, he worked alongside Hollywood actor Tom Cruise and skateboarder Tony Hawk. He won the Red Bull Scramble four times, achieving this feat with the final victory having come in Austria.[19] He rode his last stunt riding contest in 2010. He announced his retirement from the sport in 2015 in order to spend quality time with his family.[20]

Death

Pfeiffer died by suicide on 12 March 2022. His death was announced three days later.[19][21] He had depression.[21]

References
  1. Nair, Hari Govind. "Chris Pfeiffer: Tendulkar of stunt biking!". The Economic Times. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  2. Chakravorty, Deblina. "Chris Pfeiffer's death-defying stunts! – Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  3. "Chris Pfeiffer wins 2007 European Stunt Riding Championship". www.press.bmwgroup.com. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  4. "The biker-man – Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  5. Toma, Sebastian (15 March 2022). "Legendary Stunt Rider Chris Pfeiffer Passed Away". autoevolution. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  6. "Stunt driving legend Chris Pfeiffer commits suicide". Techzle. 15 March 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  7. "Legendary stunt king Chris Pfeiffer dead at age 51". Fox Sports. 16 March 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  8. "Chris Pfeiffer – Germany |". Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  9. "World champion stunt rider Chris Pfeiffer due | Daily FT". www.ft.lk. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  10. "Pfeiffer goes to Jaffna". www.sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  11. "Chris Pfeiffer pushing boundaries of Streetbike". Scoop News. 6 November 2006. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  12. "Christian Pfeiffer to wow UK crowds in June". www.press.bmwgroup.com. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  13. Chris Pfeiffer @ Stunt Wars 2006 in Florida., retrieved 17 March 2022
  14. Newbigging, Chris (28 August 2009). "New BMW F800R Chris Pfeiffer replica". Motorcycle News. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  15. "BMW F800R Chris Pfeiffer: Riding impression". Faster and Faster. Archived from the original on 29 October 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  16. Tibu, Florin (2 September 2015). "Legendary Stunt Rider Chris Pfeiffer Retires at 45". autoevolution. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  17. "Stunt maestro Chris Pfeiffer talks on deadly wheelies and killer burnouts". DNA India. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  18. "Red Bull biking legend to storm Colombo, Jaffna | Daily FT". www.ft.lk. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  19. Otto, Tyson (16 March 2022). "Chris Pfeiffer dead: Motorbike stuntman, BMW rider, Red Bull athlete, family". news.com.au. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  20. "Chris Pfeiffer Retires from Stunt riding: xBhp News – xBhp.com : The Global Indian Biking Community". www.xbhp.com. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  21. Goodwin, Sam (16 March 2022). "Chris Pfeiffer death: Sporting world rocked by tragedy". au.sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
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