Chris Birch @ Romaniacs

[takitimu]

Day 2, looks like he's running 6th ( http://www.redbullromaniacs.com/index.php?id=96 )

Here's some pic's from the romaniacs website

http://www.redbullromaniacs.com/photo/photos-2007/image_detail/441/image_album/7/
http://www.redbullromaniacs.com/photo/photos-2007/image_detail/443/image_album/7/
http://www.redbullromaniacs.com/photo/photos-2007/image_detail/393/image_album/7/
http://www.redbullromaniacs.com/photo/photos-2007/image_detail/395/image_album/7/
http://www.redbullromaniacs.com/photo/photos-2007/image_detail/391/image_album/7/

[charles23]

yeah he's doing phenomenonally well considering he's up against the best euro riders, latest update is that he's in 3rd outright after day 2.

check out WMC for updates http://www.waitematamcc.co.nz/articles2.php?recordID=374

[barty5]

the woodern tilted bridge thingee looks like a challange and a lota fun some one should build one i dont have the space or id give it a go

[takitimu]

Looks like Chris won Day 2 which is damn impressive !!.

Overall he's 6th 24 minutes back from Cyril Despres.

BIRCH Chris 3:14:0:0 11640
DESPRES Cyril 3:15:0:0 11700
RED MONT Kyle 3:18:0:0 11880
GERHARD Forster 3:19:0:0 11940
GAU Michel 3:22:0:0 12120

Overall Chris is 6th

DESPRES Cyril 8:55:0:0 32100
GAU Michel 8:57:0:0 32220
GERHARD Forster 9:2:0:0 32520
ANTOR Alex 9:6:0:0 32760
RED MONT Kyle 9:16:0:0 33360
BIRCH Chris 9:19:0:0 33540

[Danger]

Wow, good effort! Chris is a phenom!

I see Simon Crafar is riding in the Expert class!

[scott411]

this is part of the day 2 vid, chris is interviewed at the end, it is also him poping a wheely out of the river,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5chrHnz1piA

[FlangMasterJ]

Dang he's doing well! Running with the big guns.

[chris]

Chris was also leading for a time on the first day until the chain came off his bike. He also had to take a time penalty on the second day for missing a checkpoint that dropped him down the order.

The Romaniacs site isn't that informative but we're getting snippets of info from his crew. Anything significant and I'll post it here.

[FlangMasterJ]

Just watched 'The Crowd Goes Wild' which had footage of Chris at the Romaniacs and said he had won. Can anyone confirm this?

[NordieBoy]

He won the second day and is 6th overall

[chris]

Chris finished day three third and is now up to fourth overall.

[denill]

Chris Birch achieved a phenomenal result on Day 2 of the Red Bull Romaniacs in Sibiu, Romania after starting the day in seventh after a mishap with his GPS navigation system on Day one.
Birch said, “I got into an awesome groove and just rode. I felt really comfortable, and it obviously worked out alright.”

“Overall today seemed easier than day one with the exception of two sections, one a steep rocky switchback hill climb and the other a mega steep downhill which I basically just slid down on my side.”

“One highlight of the day was when we had to put our bikes into slings and run them down a cable across a valley, it was pretty extreme,” commented Birch.

Cyril Despres matched his position from yesterday again in second. The ever consistent KTM rider doesn't seem to get flustered by any terrain thrown at him. One tricky rock section that slowed a few of the professional riders for a few seconds didn't faze Despres.

In third for the day was Kyle Redmond who said, “it was a close day with only minutes separating us and it was a lot easier than day one as we didn't really get to the hard stuff.”

“There is a lot to come yet, tomorrow should be tough as we ride some of day one's course backwards.”

The day was shortened to around two thirds race distance for the professionals after a race official sent the first three riders down the wrong track, those three happening to be Despres, Gau and Birch.

This left race organisers no choice to but to call it after the sixth checkpoint. While this left some riders unhappy there was no other viable option to keep the results fair.

In terms of overall results, Cyril Despres moved ahead of Michel Gau, yesterday's day winner, to take the top spot. Third went to Forster Gerhard with Alex Antor dropping from second to fourth. Fifth overall is Kyle Redmond leaving Birch up one place in sixth.

In closing Birch said, “It's pretty amazing to have won a day of the Red Bull Romaniacs, I'm really happy but there is still an awful lot more to go.”

Meanwhile, ex 500cc GP rider Simon Crafar, the other Kiwi entry finished second on Day 1. Crafar is competing as one half of a team in the Expert class on a KTM300EXC which for most of the day had a cracked expansion chamber.

Crafar said of the day, “I enjoyed the day but there are parts I wouldn't want to do again.” The bad news for Crafar is that on day three he is likely to be going back up those same nasty hills.

Official site is: http://www.redbull.com/en/ArticlePage.1181826773760-1852291524.0/htmlArticlePage.action#page=LandingPage.1180283165 396-1686583359

[denill]

And <a href=http://www.bikesportnz.com/articles/?p=1661#more-1661>BikeSportsNZ</A> report on Day 3.

[chris]

In terms of overall results, Cyril Despres moved ahead of Michel Gau, yesterday's day winner, to take the top spot.
Overall results after day three are Gau leading from Despres.

[chris]

Chris has finished the event in third place overall. Despres took the win with Gerhard Forster in second. Gau suffered a broken arm and was unable to finish.

Hopefully, Birchy will get signed up for a factory ride and pack his bags for Europe.

[denill]

Chris has finished the event in third place overall. Despres took the win with Gerhard Forster in second. Gau suffered a broken arm and was unable to finish.

Hopefully, Birchy will get signed up for a factory ride and pack his bags for Europe.


Thanks for the update. What a fantastic result. And yeah, that has to open a few eyes. :yes: :yes:

[chris]

And yeah, that has to open a few eyes. :yes: :yes:We can only hope.

[denill]

<a href=http://www.redbullromaniacs.com/2007-edition/news/news-details/article/third-victory-for-cyril-despres/?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=92&cHash=617ce8d9ca>A Kiwi on the Podium:</A>

[takitimu]

A seriously impressive effort, what is most impressive is that he kept improving, taking another 7 minutes off Gerhard Forster on the last day.

Well done Chris !!!! ( and congratulations to everyone who made the trip work ).

[Danger]

Very good effort and well worth the trip!

[charles23]

what an adventure and what a great acheivement. the pics are amazing, howz that double swing ramp over the stream!

[dammad1]

Thats an unreal result, to compete at that level and get a podium is awesome, he must be real talented.

[denill]

<a href=http://www.bikesportnz.com/articles/?p=1691#more-1691>He Will Be Going Back:</A>

And some Video clip URLs

[FlangMasterJ]

Congrats to Chris!

That see-saw over the creek looks like a bitch!

[chris]

Chris describes the Romaniacs in his own words in the August KR, on sale around the 16th.

[Big Dave]

Chris describes the Romaniacs in his own words in the August KR, on sale around the 16th.

Video is on the home page too.
www.kiwirider.co.nz