Hot Start to 13th Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Training Week

The six new Yamaha VR46 Master Camp riders commenced their training schedule. In the morning, they had Ayumu Sasaki show them the ropes in a MiniGP training session. In the afternoon, they learnt the best way to prevent injuries through thorough warm up, stretching, and exercise.

The 13th-edition Yamaha VR46 Master Camp riders made a flying start to their training schedule on Day 1. 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) went full gas in a MiniGP training in the morning and got in some gym time in the afternoon.

Having aced their medical check first thing in the morning, a mandatory condition for participating in the Master Camp training programme, the riders were ready to start their first activity: MiniGP at the Jeepers Kart track. The riders were joined by Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team's Ayumu Sasaki. Though a morning session, the temperatures were sweltering. Nevertheless, the riders had great fun learning how to choose the correct lines, adapt the right body position, hit the braking points, and more.

At the end they held their first friendly competition. The riders went all out in a Superpole which was won by Takahashi. Nugroho came in second, ahead of Bocanegra in third place.

Sasaki shared afterwards, "I was my first time participating in the Yamaha VR46 Master Camp training week, and the MiniGP session was a very good experience. I rode with these young Yamaha riders, and their level is very high. We rode on track together, and I enjoyed it a lot - they are really competitive! This was good to see, and I think they all enjoyed it.

"For each rider I focused on different things. They all have different riding styles, so we didn't really work on that, but, in general, we worked on riding the right lines and on gearing to make sure they don't lose too much time on track in these areas."

After a quick lunch at Jeepers, the Yamaha talents had replenished their energy and headed to their afternoon appointment at the FISIO GYM with training expert David Zuccaroli and Pilates instructor Silvia Pacini.

During their work-out sessions, they focused on flexibility as well as endurance, both vital in motorsport at World Championship level. The riders are expected to use the stretching techniques they have learnt before every riding session in order to prevent injuries and improve movability.

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."