Loic Larrieu And Yamaha Secure Enduro 2 Victory at GP of Greece
. By Bikeland Staff
Continuing his impressive form in the Enduro 2 class of the Enduro World Championship Frenchman Loic Larrieu has secured a first victory for the all-new WR450F. Battling against both on-form Enduro 2 class competition and unexpectedly wet and muddy conditions in Grevena, Greece the Outsiders Yamaha Official Enduro 2 Team rider claimed a solid runner-up result on day one before securing victory on day two.
Expected by most to be a return to dry weather conditions, the GP of Greece saw riders battling against a wet, muddy and extremely difficult course. Featuring three special tests each lap, and a total of three long and challenging laps each day, the event proved to be anything but easy for riders in all classes.
For WR450F mounted Loic Larrieu the event ended with the Frenchman having produced his best form of the series to date. Forced to slip and slide his way through the opening day's competition, despite the difficult terrain he secured a well-deserved runner-up Enduro 2 class result.
Recording the fastest Enduro 2 class time on the second day's opening special test things suddenly took a turn for the worse for Loic on the enduro test. Crashing heavily he thankfully managed to complete the test before bouncing back in impressive style. Losing at least 20 seconds to his rivals following his mistake, over the remaining six special tests he managed to claw back the lost time and amazingly position himself at the top of the Enduro 2 class results. Completing a near mistake free final enduro test Loic secured a first Enduro World Championship victory for the all-new WR450F.
Frustratingly for Cristobal Guerrero day one of the GP of Greece ended prematurely for the Spaniard as a nasty crash on the enduro test forced him to retire. Injuring his shoulder Cristobal's injuries thankfully weren't as bad as he first thought. Able to start the second day's competition Guerrero battled his way to a hard fought fifth place result.
After three rounds of the 2016 Enduro World Championship Loic Larrieu sits joint third in the Enduro 2 championship standings and just five points from the runner-up position. Cristobal Guerrero is placed seventh.
The 2016 FIM Enduro World Championship now moves to Heinola, Finland for the fourth round of the series on June 11/12.
Untitled Loic Larrieu - Outsiders Yamaha Official Enduro 2 Team
2nd Day 1/ 1st Day 2
"It's been a tough but very good GP. I made two or three mistakes during the first day but I think every rider made mistakes - it was difficult not to with the conditions like they were. I managed to finish second, which I was really happy with. So much can happen when the special tests are wet and muddy, but generally all went very well although I wasn't quite able to challenge for the win. Day two went even better. It wasn't a perfect day because in the first enduro test I crashed hard and hit my head. After that I just pushed as hard as I could to come back, which I managed to do. Getting the win is really amazing, and very important for all in the team. Every week they are working hard with the new WR450F so to take this step forward is very important. It felt like the special tests and the course were just one big, long rut. It was a really hard race but with this result also a very pleasing one."
Untitled Cristobal Guerrero - Outsiders Yamaha Official Enduro 2 Team
DNF Day 1/ 5th Day 2
"It's always disappointing not being able to finish a day, but I crashed heavily on the second enduro test on day one and hurt my shoulder. At first I thought that I had dislocated my shoulder but thankfully that wasn't the case. It was too painful to continue, but I was able to race on day two. With the mud it was a long, tough day but it was a good one for the team. I got fifth, which I am pleased with, as well as twice finishing fourth on two special tests. I'll get my shoulder checked out and be ready for the next GP in Finland."