BIO
Who is Chris Birch?
Chris Birch is the 2011 South African National Enduro champion and 5 time New Zealand Enduro Champion. At 31 years old Chris has been competing in endurance motorbiking since the age of 17. Chris Birch lives and breathes motorcycles, he is in partnership with Comsol, Red Bull and rides KTM bikes.
Chris began his motorcycling career when he started competing in motorbike trials in 1988. His first enduro was in the North Island Enduro championships, coming first in the 200cc class in 1998. He won several New Zealand National Trials titles in Clubmen, Intermediate and Expert classes at the age of 18.
Who supports him?
Chris is in partnership with Red Bull and is sponsored by Comsol Bell Racing in South Africa.
Chris also has support from Alfie Cox Racing, Hyde, Thor, Motorex, Bandit GPS, Leatt, Airoh, Ariete,and Sidi boots.
Chris also has a lot of support from family and his amazing wife, Monica. This support is crucial in a sport such as this which dominates Chris’s life.
What has he done?
Chris moved to South Africa in 2011 season and won the SA National Enduro champs, as well as racing in Red Bull Romaniacs, Sea to Sky, Erzberg, and Ukupacha in Ecuador.
Chris recently competed and COMPLETED the infamous Dakar Rally in South America and has a big season ahead of him in South Africa for 2012
Chris has won the Roof of Africa - winning three years in a row - only the third person in the race history to do so! Chris came 2nd in 2011.
In 2011 Chris raced in about ten different countries scored podium places in Ecuador, Romania, Lesotho, and Turkey.
Chris won Red Bull Romaniacs in 2010, after two years of coming third. In 2009, Chris also took 8th place in Erzberg, a Red Bull extreme event in Austria. He also ran the Red Bull City Scramble in downtown Auckland, coming second.
In 2005 Chris travelled to the UK to gain greater international racing experience. He raced for the UK Husqvarna team. In the year he was overseas he competed in races in England, Wales, Spain, Italy, Poland and Germany.
In addition to this, he has competed in six Australian Four Day Enduro races, and three International Six Day Enduro (ISDE) races - one in Brazil where he earned a silver medal, in New Zealand, where he represented New Zealand in the Senior Trophy Team and earned a gold medal and Greece where he scored a second gold. He has won the New Zealand Enduro championship overall five times.
Chris discovered extreme enduro racing in 2007 and has competed successfully at Red Bull Romaniacs, Red Bull Last Man Standing, Hell's Gate, Extreme Legares and the Roof of Africa. Extreme racing has now become Chris's passion.