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All content © Bob MuIIins | |||
EnduroGP ITALY Round 3 Larrieu Earns First EnduroGP Victory & McCanney Claims Double Podium Result In Italy Putting in a brilliant performance in Spoleto, Outsiders Yamaha Official Enduro Team's Loïc Larrieu has secured his first EnduroGP class victory on the second day of racing at the EnduroGP of Italy. Wrapping up a highly positive weekend with third on day one and victory on day two, the WR450F mounted Frenchman has moved up to second in the class' championship standings. Contested under hot and dusty conditions, the EnduroGP of Italy offered a true test for all competitors' physical and mental stamina. Continuing to go from strength to strength aboard his WR450F machine, Larrieu was a strong contender for the top of the podium throughout the weekend in Italy. Featuring a long enduro test along with a fast and flowing motocross test as well as a challenging extreme test, the GP of Italy proved anything but easy for all competitors. Kicking off the weekend in Spoleto with a steady run and a ninth place result in the short opening SuperTest, the Frenchman entered the first full day of racing hoping for strong results in the premier EnduroGP class. Suffering a mistake in the first test on day one of the GP, Loïc was faced with a mountain to climb on Saturday. Quickly getting back up to speed he posted the fastest time in four out of eleven special tests to wrap up day one of the GP with a strong third place result. Determined to show more of what he's capable of on day two, he topped six out of the 10 tests thus securing an impressive class victory. For the Outsiders Yamaha Official Enduro Team rider this was his first outright victory and his third aboard WR450F machinery. Collecting valuable points during the weekend in Italy, Larrieu has climbed to second in the EnduroGP championship standings. Continuing to impress aboard the Outsiders Yamaha Official Enduro Team's WR250F machine, Larrieu's teammate Jamie McCanney has battled for the Enduro 2 class victory on both days of racing in Spoleto, Italy, to wrap up round three of the 2017 FIM EnduroGP World Championship with two strong runner-up class results. Starting the weekend with a seventh place finish during the SuperTest, McCanney upped his pace to take the lead in the Enduro 2 class early on day one. Involved in a day-long battle for the victory, Jamie wrapped up the day second in the class and having posted the fastest time in three out of eleven special tests. Equally fast and consistent on the second day of racing in Italy, the Manxman posted times inside the top three in seven out of 10 tests to again finish on the podium with second in class. Earning valuable points for the championship, Jamie is currently placed third in the class' points standings. Marc Bourgeois – Outsiders Yamaha Official Enduro Team manager: "We're really happy with the performance of both our riders at this GP. Finishing on the podium and seeing Loïc claim our first EnduroGP victory has been a great reward for all our hard work since the beginning of the season. Coming into this GP, our plan was to help Loïc improve his performance during the opening stages of each race. Unfortunately he had a crash in the opening extreme test on Saturday and that forced him to settle for third. Coming back stronger on day two, he rode a great race and even managed to make a gap of more than 30 seconds to his rivals at the end of the day. In the Enduro 2 category, Jamie put in a brilliant performance in Italy. H showed he has the potential to battle for victory and at the end of each day he only lost the top step of the podium by a few seconds. We're now heading to the famous Trèfle Lozérien classic enduro in France and our plan then is to take a small and well-deserved break before the EnduroGP of Hungary.” Loïc Larrieu: "It's incredible to finish the GP of Italy with the EnduroGP class victory. We've worked hard for this GP and to wrap it up with our first outright win is extremely rewarding. The weekend started with me making a big mistake in the beginning of day one. Pushing hard to gain back the time lost, I managed to climb back to third and I'm happy about that. Putting in some great times in the long enduro test, I showed the speed was there to battle for victory. Then on day two I had an OK first lap. Everyone is pushing hard to win tests so I knew it would be a long battle to the finish. Entering the second lap I attacked hard and managed to gradually make a small gap to the rest of the field. After launching my attack on lap two, I could then take it a little easy and ride in defensive mode during the final lap. Wrapping up the day more than 30 seconds ahead of the field in such challenging conditions means a lot. The hard work continues and we're already looking forward to the following round of the series in Hungary.”
Jamie McCanney: "I'm really happy with my performance during this GP. Considering the journey I've been on during the last couple of years with injuries, it just feels good to be back battling for victory. It's great to be part of the Yamaha family and all the members of my team are doing an incredible job. This weekend we came really close to securing our first win of the year and I'm satisfied with the way I rode. I had a huge battle with Josep Garcia and our times on both days would put us inside the top five in the overall results. I felt that I rode in control all weekend, avoiding mistakes and crashes. On the first day I lead for the first lap and a half. Then on day two Josep was stronger in the enduro test but I was managing to gain some time in the other two tests. We came in the final test with three seconds between us. I thought it wasn't worth taking the risk, so I settled for second and some good points for the championship.” The Outsiders Yamaha Official Enduro Team return to action in Paradfürdo, Hungary, with round four of the 2017 Enduro World Championship taking place on June 23/25.
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