13th Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Students Build Speed in Day-2 Flat Track Activity

Having warmed up on Day 1 with some exercise and a MiniGP training, the six Yamaha VR46 Master Camp recruits were ready for a challenge: they completed two flat track sessions on their second day and enjoyed their first eSport session.

The 13th Yamaha VR46 Master Camp was all about flat track skills on Day 2. The six new recruits completed both a morning and an afternoon practice at the VR46 Motor Ranch, with an eSport training session in the interval.

Gonzalo Sanchez Melendez (age 15, Spain), Takumi Takahashi (age 16, Japan), Dorian Joulin (age 17, France), Aymon Bocanegra (age 14, Peru), Wahyu Nugroho (age 21, Indonesia), and Md Adamhaikal Bin Jahar (age 19, Malaysia) had been greatly looking forward to riding the Master Camp YZ250F bikes at Valentino Rossi's VR46 Motor Ranch. They met up with Flat Track Instructor Marco Belli and were again joined by Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team's Ayumu Sasaki, who was also a first-time VR46 Motor Ranch visitor.

After a busy morning session, the riders had a quick lunch at Bar, Ristorante e Pizzeria Da Rossi, before joining multiple MotoGP eSport Champion Lorenzo Daretti for an eSport session in the upstairs area of the Motor Ranch. They focused on the basic skills needed for a killer lap time.

"It was a good first day", said Daretti afterwards. "We've chosen to ride the long and wide Sepang track because it was the most popular vote by these guys, and the more narrow Misano circuit because it's the home track of VR46. These two circuits have opposite characteristics.

The guys did a 45-minute free practice session per track. It was so nice to see them work. The times of four of them were very close towards the end. The other two will need to improve a bit more to close the gap. But, anyway, it's very interesting to work with them because they improve very fast. They improved on braking. At first, their bikes moved a lot and they were not precise, but at the end of the practice they improved their consistency and became smoother on corner exit.

"On Day 3 we will have a qualifying and two races, so let's see what happens!

"Ayumu also played a bit, and he is very clean, like in real life."

In the late afternoon, with the sun no longer at it's highest, the young talents went back to perfecting their flat track basic skills. With the help of Sasaki and Belli, they soon mastered slaloming and figures of eight and were allowed to start riding on the small oval and later the Americana track where they could speed up somewhat.

Both coaches were very pleased with how the day went.

As with every first flat track day of the Master Camp training week, the guys have to make the first approach to understanding the discipline and this track's surface in particular", shared Belli. "So, the first part of the day was dedicated to specific exercises to boost their confidence step by step. The training sessions went super well with Sasaki present. He was an extra 'push' for the others. Because the Master Camp riders were ready for more speed by the afternoon session, we could already let them gain some experience on the Americana track, which is a special kind of track here at the ranch.

"We fully enjoyed it. Everyone was safe, and I saw everyone make a good step up."

Sasaki added, "First of all I want to say 'Thank you' to the Master Camp staff, VR46 staff, and Valentino for organizing an amazing event. I enjoyed these last two days of riding a lot. I did a bit of teaching, and I was also having fun with the Master Camp riders, especially on Day 2, riding at the VR46 Motor Ranch. It's a really nice place. I will take this experience with me because I enjoyed it a lot. Thanks again to everyone who's involved!"

Comments

Gonzalo Sanchez Melendez

"We completed the first day. This Master Camp is amazing! We rode MiniGP bikes, and it's so much fun. It was a new bike for me, and I mainly worked on adapting to it step by step. I tried my best, but I also tried to have a good time. I want to have fun because this is such a unique experience, and I feel so grateful to be here. We had a great time at Jeepers. But afterwards I was so tired - yet it was only the first day!"

Takumi Takahashi

"First of all, I'm so happy to get the gold medal in the MiniGP session. I'm used to this bike, but everyone was fast, so we were competing against each other. I'm happy to have managed to get a good result in the end. I ran behind Ayumu and in front of him, and I learnt a lot. It was great to be able to watch him and imitate him, and he gave me advice. I was able to improve my lap times based on that advice. I ran with his advice in mind and immediately got results, which was great."

Dorian Joulin

" It's a beautiful programme, so I'm very happy. It's a good opportunity, it's incredible. I usually love motorcross, but I've never done flat track before, this will be my first time. I'm not sure what to expect, but I'm very curious to try it."

Aymon Bocanegra

"I felt very well on the MiniGP bike since Free Practice 1. Riding with Ayumu was amazing, I learnt a lot from him. The take-home message for me today is working on the lines, not closing them too much."

Wahyu Nugroho

"The session was a lot of fun because it was the first time for me, I never rode with a MiniGP bike before, and it was so much fun. It was really fun to have Ayumu there as well. We learnt a lot from him. He shared many things that we can try in order to improve our riding. I think my agility on the bike has improved after we had this session with this type of bike."

Md Adamhaikal Bin

"The MiniGP session for me was very good! It was awesome for my experience, and I learnt a lot more about my own riding style. It was a really great experience riding with Ayumu. Having a Moto2 rider train with you can only be good for my experience. What I learnt about riding styles while riding the MiniGP bike with Ayumu is very different from what I'm used to doing in Malaysia."