Chris Burns dominated the British Superteen Championship on a Cagiva in 1996 and won himself a Honda RS125 in the national 125 series in \'97. He set 5 lap records and won 4 rounds before being selected to partner Kazuto Sakata in the 125cc World Championship. In 1998 he was voted British Superbike Young Rider of the Year, but struggled to find sponsorship for 1999 and was forced to return to the British 125s. He was back on a 4-stroke in 2000, finishing 3rd in European Superstock Championship before contesting the British Superstock Championship in 2001 and 2002. Burns was recommended for the Harris WCM MotoGP Team and joined them for 2003 and 2004 with a best finish of 16th at the 2004 German GP.