It seems that BMW Motorrad rider Chris Pfeiffer is in the middle of a rich run of form at the moment. Just one week after the German secured the 2006 European Stunt Riding Championship he once again stood on the podium at the Obersaxon Hillclimb in Switzerland.
His third place finish mirrored his result last year at the same event and came as a pleasant surprise to Pfeiffer who was expecting a harder run in this year´s event. Despite the track lacking the grip of last year´s course Chris once again proved how effective the combination of him and his HP2 can be by finishing third for the second year in succession.
"This year´s event was very difficult," explained Chris. "The track was very dusty and the weather was really hot. It meant there was very little traction so I couldn´t use all the power of the HP2 Enduro."
Although the HP2´s main advantage of 105 hp was limited by the terrain it was left to another of its unique features - the air suspension - to be the deciding factor. "The air damping that the HP2 is fitted with is the perfect suspension for hill climbs," admitted Chris. "There is nothing better; it really flew across the rocks at the bottom of the hill."
According to Chris he also had added help from the crowd who really got behind the German on his HP2. "The HP2 was the darling of the crowd. Everyone loved it because it was the big bike next to all the tiny single-cylinder bikes. It also sounds awesome, much better than the other bikes."
The semi-finals didn´t go quite according to plan though and with Chris down in seventh position he thought he would have to quite literally ´climb a mountain´ in the final. However as usual the German extreme rider found the performance he needed when it mattered and reached his personal best (204.7 metres) in the final.
Competing in the hill climb wasn´t enough for Chris though. He also decided to take his F 800 S stunt bike along to entertain the crowds between rounds and gave several displays that confirmed just why he was crowned European Stunt Champion last weekend.
"The whole weekend was great," said Chris. "There were over 7,000 people there and the atmosphere was really good. I´ll definitely be back next year for another go."
