Reigning FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC) title holders GMT94 Yamaha Official EWC Team will retain its same line-up that earned the 2016/2017 crown in the upcoming season.

The team for the 2017/2018 championship will consist of David Checa, Niccolò Canepa and Mike Di Meglio, all who have been proved as strong contenders in the title hunt.

Team manager Christophe Guyot spoke of the squad’s unchanged line-up, mentioning consistency will be key as they endeavour to claim a second-consecutive world title.

“We enter the new season with the same riders, the same team and the same bike,” said Guyot. “Consistency is key – for the Bol d’Or we will have updated the suspension and made a few tweaks on the bike and the goal is to win the race.

“The goal is to win and get our title defence off to the best possible start. We will build a good strategy and implement it as you have to do at all endurance races. The target was always to keep the same riders for the new season. After Mike’s first race at Le Mans, we knew he would be a good fit alongside David and Niccolò.

“The guys are like three brothers, each one brings different things to the team and their skills complement each other. I know they will enjoy staying together and fighting to defend their title.”

The opening round of the of the upcoming Endurance World Championship will be the 24-hour Bol d’Or at the Circuit Paul Ricard in France, on the 16-17 September.