Johansson Yamaha Official Junior Enduro Team Round Out 2018 With Victory In Germany

Enjoying a highly successful weekend in Rudersdorf, Johansson Yamaha Official Junior Enduro Team saw their wild-card rider Wil Ruprecht secure an impressive Enduro Junior class victory on the first day of the German GP. Claiming a seventh place class result on day two, WR250F powered Ruprecht helped the team wrap up the 2018 Enduro World Championship on a high note in Germany.

Taking place in Rudersdorf, the GP of Germany featured a total of 21 special tests in dry and dusty conditions. For this final round of the 2018 FIM Enduro World Championship, the Johansson Yamaha Official Junior Enduro Team had the pleasure of welcoming Wil Ruprecht, with the 20-year-old Aussie making his debut in the series aboard the team’s WR250F machine.

Demonstrating impressive speed from the get-go, the young Aussie secured third in the short opening SuperTest on Friday and went on to top three tests during day one on Saturday. Enjoying a clear advantage of more than 20 seconds, Wil claimed a comfortable victory in the under 23 category on day one.

Retaining that same momentum on day two, the young Aussie was holding on to the provisional lead in the class, but was forced to settle for seventh in the class following some mistakes in the closing lap.

Continuing his apprenticeship in the Enduro World Championship, Johansson Yamaha Official Junior Enduro Team’s Kyle Flanagan wrapped up the weekend in Germany with two 14th place results in the Enduro Junior category.

At the end of a challenging season for the Johansson Yamaha Official Junior Enduro Team, Wil Ruprecht and Kyle Flanagan secured 16th and 21st in the 2018 FIM Enduro Junior World Championship final standings. Missing the second half of the season due an injury sustained at the Swedish Enduro Championship, Erik Appelqvist claimed 18th in the 2018 Enduro Junior World Championship.

Wil Ruprecht – Johansson Yamaha Official Junior Enduro Team rider

1st Day 1 / 7th Day 2

“It’s been an amazing weekend for me and I want to thank the Johansson team for giving me the opportunity to race the Enduro World Championship. This is where I want to end up and hopefully secure a few World Championships in the future. Coming to Germany I didn’t know where I would end up, so decided to ride within my potential. I’ve been riding a Yamaha 450F back home so jumping on the team’s WR250F was a bit of a change. I really enjoyed racing their bike during the weekend here in Germany. I felt really strong on day one and was happy to get the victory. On day two I was leading for the first two laps, but a few unfortunate mistakes forced me to settle for seventh. Overall, it’s been an awesome experience to race with the best Junior riders in the world and I hope I can be back next year to race the full series.”

Kyle Flanagan – Johansson Yamaha Official Junior Enduro Team rider

14th Day 1 / 14th Day 2

“It’s been a busy couple of weeks and this GP was a challenge for me. I’ve raced the last round of the South African Enduro Championship last weekend so it was tough for me to adapt to the completely different format of the World Championship. I feel I made some improvements over the weekend with my speed and got stronger as the racing went on. I’ve done three GPs now and I feel I’m learning every time I’m riding. My final results could have been better, but from my side I felt I pushed as hard as I could. The cross test got some deep ruts over the weekend and it was quite challenging to get some good times in this test. In saying that, I surprised myself on the cross special as could see myself taking corners really well. That for me was a plus and I’m looking forward to seeing what the future holds. I’ve learned a lot these last few months and I want to thank the team for allowing me do those three rounds of the World Championship with them.”

Results – 2018 FIM EnduroGP World Championship, Round 8, Germany

Day 1 – Enduro Junior
1. Wil Ruprecht (AUS), Yamaha, 52:54.14
2. Matteo Cavallo (ITA), Beta, 53:16.80, +22.66
3. Joe Wooton (GBR), Husqvarna, 53:22.70, +28.56
4. Andrea Verona (ITA), TM, 53:34.92, +40.78
5. Tosha Schareina (ESP), Husqvarna, 53:41.62, +47.48
6. Davide Soreca (ITA), TM, 53:43.54, +52.09

14. Kyle Flanagan (ZAF), Yamaha, 55:24.00, +2:29.86
15. Thibaut Passet (FRA), Yamaha, 55:33.71, +2:39.57

Day 2 – Enduro Junior
1. Theophile Espinasse (FRA), Sherco, 54:44.51
2. Joe Wooton (GBR), Husqvarna, 54:45.36, +0.85
3. Davide Soreca (ITA), TM, 54:59.59, +15.08
4. Matteo Cavallo (ITA), Beta, 55:01.17, +16.66
5. Andrea Verona (ITA), TM, 55:12.84, +28.33
6. Jack Edmondson (GBR), Sherco, 55:37.70, +53.19
7. Wil Ruprecht (AUS), Yamaha, 55:53.56, +1:09.05

14. Kyle Flanagan (ZAF), Yamaha, 57:35.44, +2:50.93

Standings – 2018 FIM Enduro World Championship

Enduro Junior
1. Matteo Cavallo (ITA), Beta, 198 points
2. Andrea Verona (ITA), TM, 172 pts
3. Joe Wooton (GBR), Husqvarna, 140 pts
4. Theophile Espinasse (FRA), Sherco, 135 pts
5. Davide Soreca (ITA), TM, 133 pts
6. Jack Edmondson (GBR), Sherco, 125 pts

16. Wil Ruprecht (AUS), Yamaha, 29 pts
18. Erik Appelqvist (SWE), Yamaha, 20 pts
20. Thibaut Passet (FRA), Yamaha, 16 pts
21. Kyle Flanagan (ZAF), Yamaha, 15 pts
22. Jean Baptiste Nicolot (FRA), Yamaha, 14 pts

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