UMA Racing-Yamaha Philippines’ McKinley Kyle Paz will
participate in the
Yamaha VR46 Master Camp.
Paz will be the f
irst-ever Filipino rider to join the said program.
Currently, Paz has the
top podium finish at the
ARRC Malaysia Race 1 and a
third-place finish in the
ARRC Malaysia Race 2.
The said training program--to be held in Italy for five days, from September 4-8--is aimed at further honing the young riding talent.
The bootcamp is made in cooperation with
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP rider Valentino Rossi's VR46 Riders Academy.
The eighth edition of the Camp will be the second for 2019, following the one held in May.
Just as in previous editions, Paz, as well as the other young guns, will undergo weeklong training and instruction under the guidance of the VR46 Riders Academy's staff and affiliated MotoGP riders, heading to venues like Rossi's Motor Ranch in his hometown of Tavullia and the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.
The Yamaha VR46 Master Camp program was created in 2016 and has been held seven times to date. The 37 mostly teenage participants so far—including one female racer—compete in various championships primarily with the
YZF-R25 and
YZF-R3 and hail from 14 countries in all: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Finland, France, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Spain, Thailand, Ukraine and the United States.
According to Yamaha's statement, "Previous Master Camp graduates have shown marked improvement, such as posting stronger results in their respective series upon returning or stepping up to full-season rides in higher classes and categories of racing."
"More than a few are racing in series like the World Supersport 300 (WorldSSP300) Championship, CEV Moto2 European Championship, and the Asia Road Racing Championship, and their upward progress as racers is expected to continue," it added.
Rossi expressed excitement on the upcoming Master Camp.
"We are very excited to see the level of these riders, because we have heard a very positive buzz about them. Sincerely, we will make them work hard and they will be tired after each and every day, but I’m also sure that they will enjoy every minute of it because the schedule is full of fun activities," he said.
"Both the on- and off-track teachings will be very important for the new guys to help them in their racing career. The VR46 Academy will guide them at every session. I hope the new students will push themselves to the limit and I look forward to their progress and the results after a week of Master Camp drilling," Rossi noted.
For his part,
Lin Jarvis, Managing Director, Yamaha Motor Racing, is elated with the Philippines finally joining the training.
"So far, the Master Camp has hosted 37 participants, hailing from 14 countries in all: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Finland, France, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Spain, Thailand, Ukraine, and the United States. We are thrilled to add another country to the list as we have McKinley Kyle Paz from the Philippines joining us in September," Jarvis was quoted.
"We hope that during the upcoming edition, the new students will have fun training alongside the VR46 Academy riders and gain the push in motivation they need to raise their level, like we’ve seen with Master Camp graduates Keminth Kubo, Galang Hendra, and Tomas Casas before them, to name just a few," he added.
