Outsiders Yamaha Enduro Team Gear Up For 2017 EWC Opener

With the opening round of the 2017 Enduro World Championship expected to be an all-snow affair around the frozen Lake Paijanne, Larrieu and McCanney have spent a productive week testing in these winter conditions ahead of first GP of the new season.

Making a strong statement in 2016 with two class victories and an impressive third in the Enduro 2 World Championship, Larrieu is ready to step it up and attack the premier EnduroGP category of the 2017 series. Remaining aboard Yamaha's WR450F machine the Frenchman will be aiming for the sharp end of the results this weekend in Finland.

Set to enter his second senior season Jamie McCanney will be the Outsiders Yamaha Official Enduro Team's representative in the Enduro 2 category of the 2017 FIM Enduro World Championship. Feeling good aboard his WR250F machine, the Manxman is expected to be a top contender in the revised 250cc class of the 2017 series.

The nine-round-long 2017 FIM Enduro World Championship kicks off on March 25/26 with the GP of Finland taking place in Paijanne, Helsinki.

Loic Larrieu | Outsiders Yamaha Official Enduro Team Rider
Everything has been going according to plan and I'm looking forward to the GP of Finland. Following my injury at the end of last year I took some time off and got back on my bike in January. The feeling was immediately good and since then we started working hard for the new season. This will be my second year on the WR450F and I'm feeling a lot more confident to push. We made a few improvements for the season but overall the base of our bike remains the same. Spending a few weeks training with Jamie in France was great for both of us, I think. We arrived in Finland a week ago to get familiar with the terrain and conditions. This is going to be my first GP in the snow and the plan is to take things one step at a time. The season is going to be long and we expect to have GPS in varying conditions. Maybe more than even before it's important to be consistent and continue improving during the season.

Jamie McCanney | Outsiders Yamaha Official Enduro Team Rider
We've been waiting for this season opener in Finland for so long. For me everything has been great during the last couple of months. It's the first time in a long time that I've been healthy during the off-season and that helped me prepare for the new season the way I wanted to. Everything is great also within our team. There's a great atmosphere with Loic, Marc and our mechanics. We've put a great bike together for the season that's so fun and enjoyable to ride. It's going to be a different start to any recent season but this is the same for everybody. This will surely be an interesting GP but overall I'm looking forward to the rest of the season as well. I'm going to give it 100% in every race and hopefully my results will follow.

Marc Bourgeois | Outsiders Yamaha Official Enduro Team Manager
This is our second year in the series and we're approaching it with some added optimism. We have the experience needed and we also have two top-class riders that we know can battle for victories in their respective classes. Unquestionably with Loic we are aiming for the EnduroGP title. We know him well so there's a strong connection with every member of our team. Our goal is to consistently fight for race victories and hopefully come out as title contenders at the end of the season. As for Jamie, despite his young age he is a very mature rider who has the potential to win the new Enduro 2 class. The season opening GP in Finland is going to be quite special. There'll be one long loop and lots of special tests during the day but we're ready for the challenge.