Source: Supplied.

It was Enduro 2 contender Eero Remes who dominated the season-opening round of the 2017 Maxxis FIM EnduroGP World Championship aboard his TM capturing the outright victory on both days of racing in Finland.

The Finnish rider charged through challenging snow conditions aboard his Husqvarna on both days of the event to claim victory ahead of a highly-talented field of contenders.

Day one of competition saw Antti Hellsten claim victory in the premier EnduroGP category ahead of fellow Finnish riders Marko Tarkkala and Aleksi Jukola to kick off his strong opening round campaign, Australia’s Matthew Phillips was the first non-Finnish rider in fourth.

A shortened day featuring 11 special tests for day two saw much of the same from Hellsten as he went on to complete a perfect weekend in EnduroGP claiming victory ahead of Holcombe and Phillips.

Hellsten leaves the Finnish event atop the standings with Tarkkala in third position tied on points with Great Britain’s Holcombe followed by Phillips in fourth with Jukola rounding out the top five.

In the Enduro 2 class it was Remes who dominated in the tough conditions opening the round with a victory on day one ahead of Henric Stigell and Pascal Rauchenecker.

Australia’s Daniel Sanders also made his debut on the world championship circuit claiming a strong sixth position aboard his Red Bull KTM entry to kick off the weekend.

Remes replicated his Enduro 2 day one success with yet another victory on day two, the Husqvarna rider bringing home the win ahead of Josep Garcia, Stigell, Yamaha’s Jamie McCanney and Roni Nikander in fifth.

Australia’s Sanders again finished up the day with a sixth-place finish aboard his factory KTM to wrap up a consistent start to his maiden world championship campaign.

With Remes leading the standings and taking out top honours outright for the weekend, Stigell leaves the opener in second position just eight points behind followed by Garcia in third, Roni Nikander in fourth and Pascal Rauchenecker in fifth – Sanders currently sits seventh overall.