The first race of the 2017 Enduro World Championship was held this past weekend in Finland. It was held in the traditional Paijantine, a race that has been held in this particular format for 80 years. The riders had to cover 450km on Saturday and 250km on Sunday, they also had more than three hours of timed sections on Saturday and two hours on Sunday!
The program included long specials in the Finnish woods, the riders had to contend with cold, snow, ice… You will want to recall that this year the world has only two categories, EnduroGP (motorcycles over 250 2T / 4T) and Enduro2 (motorcycles less than or equal to 250 2T / 4T)
In EnduroGP, Matthew Phillips proved again that he has become one of the most complete riders. Fourth and third in conditions that were extremely difficult. Because the local riders took top honors Matthew earned very valuable points towards the Championship. His fourth-place overall finish, actually equates to second in championship points which is a great way to launch his season.
In Enduro2, Lorenzo Santolino finished in tenth place on both days. The local riders took advantage of the special conditions to shine. Lorenzo also had to deal with a tendon issue in his right arm. The next race which will be held in Spain should suit him better.