Frenchman Christophe Pourcel, pictured last year, has signed for the MotoConcepts Yamaha team.

Frenchman Christophe Pourcel has been confirmed for MotoConcepts Racing ahead of this year’s 2011 AMA Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship.

After a busy week of testing last week where he rode both a GEICO Powersports Honda and a Valli Yamaha, Pourcel has made the decision to sign with the MotoConcepts team to race a Yamaha YZ450F in his rookie 450 Class season.

Pourcel is coming back from a shoulder injury sustained at the final race of the season last year and underwent surgery and extensive physical rehabilitation to make a complete recovery.

Now, the 22-year-old believes his extended time off will benefit him come Hangtown’s season opener at the end of this month in Northern California.

“The end of the season last year was disappointing but I’m very excited to make a brand new start in the motocross season with a new team, a new motorcycle and some good people behind me,” Pourcel said.

“It’s going to be interesting to see what we can accomplish together.”

Team owner Mike Genova welcomed Pourcel to the team, a significant boost to their title chances this summer in the U.S.

“We at MotoConcepts are excited to bring a rider of Christophe’s caliber to our program,” commented Genova. “We are confident with his talent and his history of winning coupled with our experienced staff.

“MotoConcepts will a very competitive force in the 450 Motocross class this summer.”

Pourcel, a two-time AMA Supercross Lites Champion, has finished second in the 250 Class of the nationals for the past two seasons.