Christophe Pourcel
| Christophe Pourcel | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | French |
| Born |
16 August 1988 (age 30) Marseille, France |
| Motocross career | |
| Years active | 2004 - present |
| Teams | Kawasaki |
| Championships |
GP-MX2 - 2006 AMA-Lites East - 2009 AMA-Lites East - 2010 |
| Wins | 6 GP (13 motos), 11 AMA SX Lites East (incl. Daytona, twice, and Las Vegas shoot out), 6 AMA Nationals (15 Motos) |
Christophe Pourcel (born 16 August 1988), is a French professional motocross rider, and winner of the 2006 FIM MX2 Motocross World Championship.[1]
Biography
Born in Marseille, France, Pourcel started international motocross racing in 2004, and soon made a name for himself on the circuit. He qualified for every MX2 race even though he rode a 125cc machine, and raced against 250cc machines. He ended his first season in fifth place, winning one race in the Czech Republic along the way. In 2006, he and his brother Sébastien became official Kawasaki riders on the GPKR Team, which was started by their father, Roger, and Patrick Gelade.
In 2006 he won the FIM MX2 Motocross World Championship, becoming the eighth Frenchman to win a Motocross World Championship and the third youngest rider ever to win one. He defeated Antonio Cairoli, the former FIM MX2 Motocross World Champion, who later became the 2nd all-time FIM Motocross World Champions, behind Stefan Everts, with 9 world titles so far.
After winning its first AMA West Supercross at Phoenix, finishing in front of Ryan Villopoto, another all-time best motocross racer who was already the 2006 AMA US National Motocross (250cc) Champion, Pourcel defended its MX2 class world championship against Cairoli but unfortunately suffered a catastrophic crash at the MXGP in Ireland, fracturing his sacrum, and causing partial paralysis. After spending 2008 recovering, he competed in the AMA Supercross and Motocross series.
On 28 March 2009 Pourcel won the championship in the AMA Lites East Supercross, then battled in the 250 class all 2009 AMA Motocross Championship long with future star Ryan Dungey, which he ended up finishing second overall for only 11 points.[2]
In 2010, Pourcel won the AMA Lites East Supercross championship a second time, then after leading all the 2010 250 AMA Motocross 250 Championship, he ended up in the third spot after a crash at the last round at pala raceway.
That injury did not help Pourcel to find a 450 factory bike to compete the AMA Supercross and Motocross Championships in 2011, and after a controversial relationship with his new employer and bike, he went back to Europe to race the second part of the FIM MX1 Motocross World Championship on a 450 KX-F Kawasaki Pro Circuit. Once satisfied with his set up for European tracks, he won 2 motos and finish twice on the podium, at the MXGP of Great Britain then in Italy.
In 2012, he competed the complete FIM MX1 Motocross World Championship with his newly created CP377 team. As a title contender against Antonio Cairoli, he finished multiple times on the podium, both of motos and GPs, and he ultimatetly won 2 MXGPs, in Italy and Brazil. An injury contracted after a crash in qualifying of the MXGP in Great Britain made him finishing outside the podium of the 2012, ending up in 4th position, for his first full MX1 season.