THE MASTER CAMP STUDENTS MEET VALENTINO ROSSI IN MISANO

The Yamaha VR46 Master Camp riders saw their dream come true on the morning of the third day: they got to meet Valentino Rossi and ride on the Misano World Circuit with him. The afternoon was filled with technical know-how, that answered their bike set-up questions, and tips on how to manage a racing career.

Tavullia (Italy), 27th July 2017

Italy‘s Alfonso Coppola (19), France‘s Enzo De La Vega (17), Finland‘s Kimi Patova (15), Ukraine‘s Mykyta Kalinin (18), Brazil‘s Renzo Ferreira (15) and the Netherlands‘ Robert Schotman (18) had all their wishes fulfilled on the third day of the programme, when Valentino Rossi visited the riding session at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in the morning. Though it was difficult for the riders to concentrate after all the excitement, they still managed to take in a lot of information in the afternoon when the Andreani Group explained the workings of motorbike suspension and Yamaha Motor Racing’s Managing Director Lin Jarvis gave advice on how the riders can manage and progress their racing career.

Though the riders had to get up extra early on day three of the Master Camp, they didn’t mind, as they were on their way to the Misano circuit and had a Master Camp YZF-R3 waiting for them.

Once at the track, the students were in their element. After a quick rider briefing, given by Moto2 rider Francesco Bagnaia,  the students headed out on track and were back on the asphalt, but the Master Camp staff had a surprise in store as, besides all the VR46 Academy riders also Valentino Rossi joined the timed session.

After accompanying their hero out on track for some riding action, the young talents were given a quick photo opportunity, before it was time for their next appointment. 

The students attended a theoretical lesson at the Andreani Group by Racing Dept Manager Evangelisti Damiano and Racing Dept Technician Tommaso Noccioli in the afternoon, which they found particularly helpful as they were able to get all their bike set-up questions answered.

After a quick break, Jarvis took to the stage for a second class, during which he highlighted the importance of building and nourishing lasting relationships with teams, sponsors and other professionals within the racing industry. The riders were fascinated by his stories and his experience in team and rider management and look forward to hearing more when they will meet up again on Friday for the final day of the programme.

VALENTINO ROSSI

It was fantastic to surprise the Yamaha VR46 Master Camp riders yesterday at the Misano circuit. I wanted to meet them and see how they were doing so far, since we were at the halfway point of the programme. I had the opportunity to see them ride for a bit when I was out on track and I was impressed with the speed of the riders. They knew the track already, which wasn’t the case for the previous guys, and they also ride YZF-R3 bikes in the WorldSSP300 class, so this made riding in Misano a little bit easier. I had a really good time with them and the guys from the VR46 Riders Academy and I hope the Master Camp riders enjoyed it too, because having fun on the bike is very important.

ALFONSO COPPOLA

Each day there is something new to learn at the Master Camp. The riding session with Valentino Rossi and the riders from the VR46 Academy was really interesting and I really enjoyed it. It was so special to be at the same track as Valentino and see him in action from up close. It was amazing that I was able to have a small chat with him about the track and how to ride it. I was also very interested in the afternoon class at the Andreani Group. I think that being able to understand how motorcycle suspension works will help me in the future. Speaking with Lin Jarvis was also very positive, it was very interesting, especially because he was so open towards us and thank to his talk I realise how to communicate within the paddock and I will continue to follow his advice.

ENZO DE LA VEGA

I was already very excited to ride the YZF-R3 on the Misano circuit and even more so when Valentino Rossi came into the box and greeted us. At that point my excitement was so great that it disrupted my concentration. A big thank you to the entire Yamaha, VR46 and Master Camp team for organising this beautiful day. It was also very interesting to participate in the suspension course at the Andreani Group building, which will allow me to have a better understanding of the behaviour of my bike. I‘m also very happy to have met Lin Jarvis, who was very helpful, giving us advice.

KIMI PATOVA

It was really nice to ride in Misano and meet Valentino Rossi and also the other guys from the VR46 Riders Academy. In the afternoon we went to the Andreani Group and had quite an intensive crash course in how suspension works and I learned a lot of new things. When Lin Jarvis spoke to us, it was truly eye-opening. He talked on building lasting relationships in the racing industry and gave tips on how young riders like us can work on their racing careers. I‘m very thankful that he took the time to talk to us about that and answer our questions.

MYKYTA KALININ

In the morning it was a nice surprise when I came into the box and saw Valentino Rossi‘s bike all ready and prepared with tyre warmers and I thought “Yes, this is the moment that I‘ll get to meet him!”. Then we met up with him and many other riders from the VR46 Riders Academy and started training. Me and two other guys were really fast. Every session we were trading positions, which is common in the WorldSSP300 championship. I‘ve met Valentino so it was perfect and I‘m super excited. The afternoon classes were also very interesting. I didn‘t fall asleep at all and noted down many things and when my brain has had a bit of rest I will go over my notes again and revise what we‘ve learned, which will hopefully help me in the future.

RENZO FERREIRA

It was really fun to ride the YZF-R3 bikes in Misano with my friends from the R3 bLU cRU Challenge. It was cool to compare the Master Camp version with the WorldSSP300 bikes. They don‘t have as much power as the bikes on the championship, but they are still a lot of fun to ride around the track. It was also nice to see the other guys from Moto3 and Moto2 out on 600cc bikes. They were really fast and passed us in unbelievable ways. It was great to meet Valentino Rossi there too. He gave us autographs and took pictures with us. He gave us a lot of attention, so that was very cool. In the afternoon we went to a class with the Andreani Group. As I got to talk with them and was able to ask things, they started to teach us a lot about suspension. They explained how it works: damping, rebound and compression. All-in-all we learned a lot and I think it will help me give feedback on the bike.

ROBERT SCHOTMAN

Spending the morning at the Misano track was great. After two days at the VR46 Motor Ranch I was looking forward to some road racing action. I like the Misano circuit a lot, so I was already excited about this day. I felt good with the bike right from the start of the first session and I managed to be fast right away. The day got even better when we got to meet Valentino Rossi, before we had a lesson about suspension at the Andreani Group. I‘ve had a lesson before, but never got answers to my questions and yesterday I finally did. Renzo and I asked quite a lot of questions and got the answers and it was really interesting. When Lin Jarvis started talking I was fascinated by how cleverly he seems to manage the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team and its riders. He‘s had some interesting issues to deal with throughout his 20-years of experience with working in the racing industry and managed to steer Yamaha‘s factory team through it all and it‘s still a winning team, so that was very interesting.