British Superbike (BSB) rider Chrissy Rouse reached the top of the Stock 1000 mountain when he wrestled the 2020 Championship away from his competitors. The Crowe Performance rider finished 26 points ahead of the field, winning two races and notching seven podiums in the process.
Rouse reunited with the Crowe Performance BMW team in 2022. Riding the M 1000 RR, number 69 achieved a top-ten finish and scored 18 points as the BSB season headed to the penultimate round at Donnington Park. Sadly, Rouse wouldn’t finish the weekend with his team. In the third and final race at the Derby circuit, the BMW rider crashed in the final corner of the opening lap.
Unable to avoid Rouse, the following rider struck the 26-year-old, resulting in a critical head injury. The BSB Medical Team tended to the rider trackside before transferring him to Nottingham’s Queens Medical Centre. Once there, doctors placed Rouse in a medically-induced coma on October 2, 2022. Practitioners then performed an emergency neurosurgery procedure that same evening.
Unfortunately, the efforts proved fruitless and Rouse passed away in the presence of his family on Thursday, October 6, 2022. Shortly after, BSB organizer Motorsport Vision Racing (MSVR) issued a statement to the public.
“On behalf of Chrissy’s family, they wish to convey their deep appreciation for the support and well wishes that they have received in recent days. As well they wish to thank all the attending marshals and medical services who provided such skill and care attending to Chrissy,” the statement read. “The family also ask for privacy at this difficult time as they attempt to deal with their devastating loss.”
The organization went on to announce that it would look further into the incident in the following days and weeks.
“MSVR is now working with the Coroner, Police, and the Motorcycle Circuit Racing Control Board in order to investigate the full circumstances of this tragic accident,” the statement continued. “Our deepest condolences are extended to Chrissy’s family, friends and team members.”
