Racing has lost one of its brightest stars

North motor sport with ZOE BURN

THIS week, the world of motorcycle racing lost one of its brightest young stars. And I lost one of my best friends.

On Thursday, Chrissy Rouse, aged 26 and 361 days sadly passed away following a crash at Donington Park last Sunday.

Chrissy was living his dream, it was the third race of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship weekend at Donington Park, the penultimate round of the season and Chrissy was on cloud nine. He was loving life.

All he’d ever wanted was to be a Superbike rider. He had worked hard, fiercely hard, and his family, his incredible family, have put everything they have for the last two decades into helping him get there.

Regular readers of this column may remember when he first appeared on my radar, back in 2009 as a curly haired young 12-year-old who had just started racing on the club scene.

Two years later he made the move to the British championship, tackling the British125 series before moving to the Triumph Triple Challenge in 2012. I began working with him the following year as his media officer.

He stayed in the series for a second year in a bid to lift the title. And win that title he did.

It was a fantastic summer. I became part of Team Rouse, we ate together, laughed together and from there a genuine friendship grew between myself, Chrissy and his family and I’ve been part of Team Rouse ever since.

As Chrissy grew older, he moved up the classes, eventually arriving in Superstock1000.

In 2020, he won the championship after a heroic struggle to put a team together and find a bike in just a matter of weeks.

The win had been the highlight of his career so far and led to the release of a documentary – Chasing the Championship – which is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

After another year in the series, Chrissy decided to go back to the format that had worked so well in 2020 and set up his own team, once again running under the Crowe Performance name which had helped him previously, but this time in the BSB series.

In April, his distinctive blue and orange BMW rolled down pit lane for the first time and it was the moment he’d been waiting for his whole life. He was a BSB rider, he was racing with some of the finest superbike racers in the world – and he certainly made a good start.

He got his first top-10 at just the third round and, despite various behind the scenes struggles over the months, he definitely earned his place and was talking to people and teams for 2023.

Away from racing he had shot to fame as a podcast host with Northumberland’s Dom Herbertson.

I remember a few years back when Chrissy mentioned it to me – “I’m going to ask that Dominic Herbertson if he wants to do a podcast with me because he’s really funny,” he’d said.

None of us could’ve imagined the success Chasin the Racing would be. It’s one of the most popular motorsport podcasts in the world, thanks to both of their vivacious personalities and humour.

I saw him briefly last Sunday morning, waved at him as he was busy in an autograph session and it always made me smile to see how he was now a big star. To me he was still always just Chrissy.

Chrissy was far more than just a rider I knew, or worked with. Chrissy became one of my best friends in and out of racing. I’ve lost a huge, huge part of my life which will never be filled.

Yet this is nothing compared to what his beautiful family – dad Martin, mam Karen, big sister Katie, little sister Grace and his beloved niece Betsy – have lost.

Tomorrow would have been your 27th birthday, my wonderful friend and our one comfort is we will always remember you as you were on Sunday. Young, happy, content and living your dream. xxx