Starting the 2017 FIM Enduro World Championship on the right foot, Johansson Yamaha Junior Enduro Team saw their rider Mikael Persson battle through tough conditions to claim a strong third place class result on day one at the EnduroGP of Finland.
Following a long winter of hard work and preparation Persson and the team kicked off their 2017 Enduro World Championship campaign during what proved to be a long and tough weekend of racing around Finland’s frozen Lake Paijanne. For the young Swede this was his debut GP in the Enduro Junior class of the series. With freezing temperatures and an average of eleven hours on the bike per day, the season opening EnduroGP proved to be a challenge for all competitors.
Taking advantage of his familiarity to Scandinavian racing conditions, Persson remained consistently fast during the opening day of competition in Finland. Putting in competitive times throughout the day, he posted the second fastest time in his class during the day’s penultimate special test. Earning third on day one the WR250F mounted rider showed he has the speed to battle for the top in the Enduro Junior category.
With conditions changing on the second day of racing in Finland, Persson suffered a series of small mistakes that forced him to settle for sixth in the uner 23 class. Collecting valuable points Yamaha’s official representative in Enduro Junior is now placed third in the class’ provisional championship standings.
Mikael Persson and the Johansson Yamaha Junior Enduro Team will return to action in Puerto Lumbreras, Spain, with the second round of the 2017 Enduro World Championship taking place on April 21/23.
“It was a long and difficult GP and I’m happy we got on the podium. To be honest, conditions on day one were similar to what we have back home in Sweden and I felt a lot more comfortable to push. I got a decent pace and managed to do my own race for third in the Junior class. Then on day two things changed. With many slippery stones and loads of different lines to choose from, you had to take more risks to go fast. My plan was to make a big push for the top in the morning, but in the third special test I had a crash and lost a lot of time. That kind of set me off pace and it was difficult to find my rhythm afterwards. With this event being so special I’m happy with our results in Finland. The series is now heading to Spain, where hopefully conditions wll be closer to what we’re used to.”
