| The Yamaha VR46 Master Camp students had to make an extra early start on the third day of the programme, as they had not one but two riding sessions to get to: flat track training on the VR46 Motor Ranch with expert Marco Belli and Moto3 riders Marco Bezzecchi and Andrea Migno in the morning, followed by an afternoon of go-kart racing at the Misanino KCE World Circuit Marco Simoncelli with Moto2 rider Francesco Bagnaia.
Despite having to set their alarm earlier than usual, the riders still arrived at the VR46 Motor Ranch raring to go. After quickly getting reacquainted with the flat track, the riders were allowed to join Bezzecchi and Migno on the big oval. They soon came up with a strategy: one of the VR46 Academy riders would ride in front of the group to show the techniques they had discussed, whilst the other observed the students’ riding style and progress from the back of the group. The system worked, as the riders all made big steps forward, which was clearly noticed by trainer Belli:
“The second flat track training session is usually aimed at getting the riders ready and out on the proper track, because during their first time it‘s just all the drills and basic exercises. We started on the smaller oval today, just to let them practice backing the bike in and get into the right position at the apex of the turn. We saw good progression already at the beginning of the day, so we let them ride on the big oval. There we gave them a chance to ride with Bezzecchi and Migno. It‘s good for them to practice with these “big names” on the challenging full track, because every turn is different in terms of radius and going uphill or downhill. Today was focused on giving the riders more feeling and experience. This means they should now be able to anticipate and be in the right position on the bike and feel good. It was really a good day for us because the speed was also good. We did have some crashes, but that‘s part of the game. Overall, we‘re just really happy with the progress of the guys.”
After the morning riding session, the Yamaha VR46 Master Camp riders had to quickly move on to their next appointment. They were given the opportunity to visit the Campionato Italiano Velocità (CIV) to meet up with VR46 riders from all classes, as well as former Master Camp riders Galang Hendra Pratama and Imanuel Putra Pratna.
However the riders couldn‘t stay long because they had to suit up for their go-kart session with Bagnaia at the Misanino track, which they were already familiar with as Nicolò Bulega taught them how to ride MiniGP bikes there yesterday (you can watch the full Day 2 Review video here and the 360 MiniGP video here).
With the go-karts supplied by Birel ART and an extra supporting instructor present, it was certain that the riders would be able to get the hang of this new discipline in no time. After just a few practice sessions the riders were up to speed and ready to race. Though Bagnaia remained unbeaten, Kubo was able to follow him the entire race and take first place amongst the Master Camp riders. Blackmon and César came second and third respectively.
However, the best achievement of all is that all riders have grasped the concept of today‘s lesson.
“We really just focused on riding smoothly”, said Bagnaia at the end of the day. “With go-karts you don‘t always have to be hard on the brakes. It‘s important to be fast in the middle of the corner and I saw during the training sessions that the riders all understood this. In the qualifying and the race they were all very fast. The race was a lot of fun and especially Kubo was really fast. All in all it has been a great day, because my main objective was to teach them to ride good corner speed, and they did this, which is the most important.”
So far, the students have acquired a variety of experiences and skills, which prepares them for more track action on the fourth day of the Master Camp today.
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