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 Master Camp programme, with Valentino Rossi visiting the riding session at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. Although it was difficult for the riders to concentrate after the excitement of the encounter, they still managed to take in a lot of information when the 'Andreani Group' spent the afternoon explaining 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.
Riders had to get up extra early on day three of the Master Camp, however they didn't mind at all – 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 and were back on the asphalt, but the Master Camp staff had a surprise in store as, besides the VR46 Academy riders, Valentino Rossi also 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.”