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Official team OUTSIDERS - YAMAHA RACING

2018 Enduro World Championship
Grand Prix of Finland

McCanney takes control in E1

Larrieu earns solid points in Finland.

Making a positive start to the 2018 Enduro World Championship, Outsiders Yamaha Official Enduro Team saw Jamie McCanney secure a victory and a fifth place Enduro 1 class result at the season opening GP of Finland. Putting in a steady ride in Lake Paijanne, Enduro 2 class rider Loïc Larrieu wrapped up his weekend with two top seven class results.

Contested in below zero temperatures, the season opening GP of Finland was a challenging event for all competitors. Taking advantage of their strong pre-season preparations, Outsiders Yamaha Official Enduro Team riders McCanney and Larrieu went head to head with a number of - more experienced in winter conditions - Finnish riders.

Showing impressive speed in such extreme conditions, McCanney started the weekend securing the 250cc class victory on Saturday. Feeling the effects of a 12-hour-long day one, the WR250F powered rider rounded out the event with fifth in the class on Sunday. Collecting a total of 31 points in Finland, McCanney is now leading the provisional Enduro 1 World Championship standings.

For the team's official representative in the Enduro 2 category, Loïc Larrieu bounced back from his seventh place day one result to earn fourth on day two. With both McCanney and Larrieu collecting some good points for the championship, the Outsiders Yamaha Official Enduro Team riders are looking forward to their competitive return in the more familiar terrain of Spain for the second round of the 2018 Enduro World Championship.

Marc Bourgeois
Team manager
"Our main goal in Finland was to help both Jamie and Loïc collect the maximum number of points for their respective championships. Knowing that the event would take place in conditions our rider are not used to, we were prepared for a challenging weekend. At the end of a positive weekend, Jamie finds himself in control in the Enduro 1 class and Loïc also manages to collect some vital points for the series. We've worked hard to be ready for this GP and we're happy it paid off. We want to thank Yamaha Finland and highly experienced racer Jari Mattila, who helped us find the right set ups on our two machines. We are now looking ahead to Spain and our goal heading to the second round of the championship would be nothing less than the victories in both classes. I would personally like to congratulate our riders for their strong performances and thank all the people from Yamaha Finland who supported us throughout our two-week-long stay in Finland.”

JAMIE McCANNEY
"It was a good weekend of racing here in Finland and I'm really happy to start the season with a win. Day one went surprisingly well for us and I managed to get the victory. I've trained a lot in winter conditions and I was able to get a good pace during the day. Arriving in Finland a week ago, we also had the chance to set up my Yamaha really well for these extreme racing conditions. To be honest I preferred the conditions on day one, as we had our bike set up for these exact conditions. On day two I felt the effects of a long and tiring day one - it was really tough. Despite not feeling perfect on day two I dug deep and did my best for a top five result. Our eyes are set on the following GP in Spain now. We will do some more testing with the team in between and the goal is to come out swinging in Spain."

Loïc Larrieu
"It was a difficult GP for all. Compared to last year's event, this year we had a lot more snow and that made everything different. On day one it took me some time to get a good pace and a few mistakes here and there cost me some time. I tried to push harder but the mistakes kept coming and I ended up seventh in my class. On day two I felt better and decided to up my pace.

I had a big crash in the second test and it took me some time to get back the time lost. I did my best to gain back some of the time lost and ended up finishing fourth for the day. Overall, we got some decent points for the championship and we look ahead now. The conditions here in Finland were very particular and the cold weather made things harder. This was just a special event and we'll be back stronger in Spain.”

The Outsiders Yamaha Official Enduro Team return to action in Santiago de Compostela, Spain for round two of the 2018 Enduro World Championship on April 27/29.