Two Wheeled Stunt Riding is a serious business globally. In Europe Stunt Freestyle has increased in popularity over the past two decades. So much so that The FIM ( Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme) Europe, got together a bunch of talented riders for the first official Street Freestyle Cup, at Kunmadaras, Hungary over the weekend of 29th April to 1st May 2017.
So What?
You may well ask! The great thing about all of this is that the Champion that weekend, is a slightly crazy but ever so talented Austrian, Günter Schachermayr, who beat the competiton…whilst riding two classic Vespa scooters. The smaller Orange PK featured in the video sensibly, has only one main rear wheel.
The Man
30 year old Günter is an Engineer by trade and applies his expertise to his second love, stunt riding Vespas. A significant amount of his time goes into ensuring his scooters are show ready. He\’s already done some pretty crazy things on the humble Vespa, you can check these out here or his Vespa Bungee jump feature here. Günter\’s wife Sabrina shares the passion and is part of his Freestyle Riding Show Team. They have two children and the youngest is actually named Kevin Vespa!
Freestyle Cup Hungary 2017
Street freestyle Europacup is now a recognized FIM discipline, which brings it under the same jurisdiction as MotoGP. The first official event was held at Kunmadaras Airport, which conveniently, is the second largest airport in Europe. Usually, to be able to enter the event, you need a racing license obtainable from your own country, in Günter\’s case this is the Austrian Racing Body ÖAMTC.
Star Guest
Already having the necessary racing credentials, FIM were keen to let Günter show off his skills, particularly because of his status as Official Piaggio Group Athlete. He was therefore, invited very much as a \”Star Guest\” and of course did not disappoint.
On With The Show
After successfully completing qualifying for the weekend, Günter took the next two day\’s \”wowing\” the crowd of 3000 with his unique range of Vespa related stunts, whilst competing with the other riders for a share of the silverware. The perfectly set up scooters from his stable performed faultlessy as of course did the rider himself.
Finale
The weekend culminated in a 12-minute spectacular, where the FIM judges required Günter to show off all of his stunts. As a result of his efforts FIM gave him the accolade of \”Best Showman\”. Watching the video in this feature will give you a very good idea as to why.
FIM Futures
After his successful Hungarian debut, Günter fully intends to progress his stunt riding prowess in a very much Vespa style, at the remaining four remaining Europa Cup FIM freestyle events. We wish him all the very best for this and the other crazy two wheeled antics he\’ll undoubtedly pursue.
Words: Lee
Photos: Günter Schachermayr
