Chris Pfeiffer shocked the competition during the "German Open" stunt riding contest at the Hockenheimring. The BMW Motorrad Motorsport rider took the win in a field packed with Europe´s top stunt riding athletes. Altogether 36 riders from 12 countries competed in the brand new event.
Pfeiffer was enthusiastic about the German Open. Firstly because nearly all stars who had gathered before in February during the indoor world championship showed up. Secondly because the level of competition was even higher. "Especially some of the lesser known names rode extremely well. This sport is developing at a fascinating pace," said Pfeiffer after the contest.
Ten riders qualified for the final, which consisted of two runs. Just when the first run got underway, it started to rain. This resulted in a slippery surface. "Stoppies and drifts became real difficult under these conditions, but I still managed to deliever a strong outing," commented Pfeiffer, who already took command of the proceedings. The 39-year-old German didn´t mind the circumstances and seemingly handled them better than his opponents. "We Germans gain a lot of experience in the wet, don´t we?" joked the winner. "Guess there´s always a good side to the bad."
The ground had dried for the second run, the superfinal. The remaining five riders used the improved conditions to fully display their phenomenal set of skills. Pfeiffer started with the ambition to keep his lead and to avoid mistakes. "I had some shaky moments and really needed to dig deep. I still managed to win, although it wasn´t my very best riding," he said.
Second place went to "Mokus" (Herczeg Balazs), third to Thomas Sagnier. The event debuted the discipline in Germany. Pfeiffer hopes that it develops into "something big". The contest at Hockenheimring was almost an unofficial European Championship, with nearly all the continental top riders showing up. Stunt riding legend AC Farias functioned as chief referee, which definitely helped to make the first-ever "German Open" a success.
Results German Open
1. Chris Pfeiffer (GER), 52 points
2. Balázs Herczeg (HUN), 46
3. Thomas Sagnier (FRA), 43
3. Bruno Ferreira (FRA), 43
5. Rafal Pasierbek (POL), 40
6. Deuz Desicy (FRA), 19
7. Jorain Ponomareff (FRA), 18
8. Marcus Larsson (SWE), 13
8. Alexander Tomaszek (FRA), 13
8. Dennis Tullberg (SWE), 13
