Our guest on Episode 59 of the Rider Magazine Insider Podcast is Nick Ienatsch, CEO and Chief Instructor at the Yamaha Champions Riding School. Ienatsch was a founding editor of Sport Rider magazine, and he’s written extensively for Motorcyclist and Cycle World magazines. Ienatsch competed in various AMA, WERA, and other roadracing series in the late ’80s and ’90s, and he’s the author of the 2003 book Sport Riding Techniques. After serving as lead instructor at the Freddie Spencer Riding School for more than a decade, Ienatsch started the Yamaha Champions Riding School, which provides on-track and street-based training around the U.S. Rider’s associate editor Paul Dail recently completed a two-day YCRS ChampSchool course at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. His review of the school can be found on RiderMagazine.com and in the June 2023 issue of Rider. In this episode, Paul and Nick take a deep dive into ChampSchool. To learn more about Yamaha Champions Riding School, including the Champ U online program, visit RideLikeAChampion.com.
A late charge from the Noale factory saw Espargaro hit the top ahead of Viñales with a stellar wildcard performance from the Little Samurai
The 2023 MotoGP™ season continued to surprise racing fans on Day 1 of the Gran Premio MotoGP™ Guru by Gryfyn de España, as an all-Spanish top four saw Aprilia Racing’s Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Viñales snatch the top spots as the first day of their home Grand Prix came to a close. All eyes were on Dani Pedrosa (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) who threw up the biggest surprise of 2023 so far, as he sat at the top of the pile in P1 and brought home P3 overall on Day 1 of his wildcard appearance, securing a Q2 spot and a chance at pole position… with a host of big hitters failing to make the Q2 cut.
A touch of nostalgia in P1
No one predicted that it would be the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing wildcard of Dani Pedrosa who would draw first blood at the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix. The Little Samurai flew his way to the top of the pile in Friday morning’s practice session with an impressive 1:36.770, leaving fans speechless and making headlines on his return to the premier class.
It just goes to show you never forget how to ride a bike as the Spanish veteran fended off one of his nation’s latest prodigies Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) to secure the spot by just 0.034s, proving his worth and showing he’s still got it as his P1 time held strong to secure a spot in the top 3 on combined times.
A last-minute charge for Q2 honours
With track temperatures soaring in the afternoon, the track became much slicker than the morning and the pressure was on for the fastest motorcycle racers in the world with Qualifying 2 places up for grabs. As ever, the opening stages of P2 were used for fine-tuning race pace, and it wasn’t until the end of the session that we saw the soft rubber go in for the riders to put the hammer down for their final time attacks.
Iker Lecuona (Repsol Honda Team) crashed out of Practice 2 and with 36 minutes remaining the red flags came out forcing the riders to return the pits. Race runs had been tested and the riders took to the circuit once again as the green flag dropped. It was crunch time in MotoGP™ as the pressure was on to secure an automatic place in Q2.
Miguel Oliveria (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP™ Team) was the first rider to improve with a minute and a half remaining as the Portuguese rider slotted himself into P4 with Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) following closely and putting himself into P5.
A flying lap from Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) came in just after, putting the Aussie into P3 and bumping Oliveria and Marquez back down the order. The two factory Aprilias were locked together and came flying over the line to reshuffle the order once again, knocking Miller down to P5 and demoting Oliveira and Marquez to 7th and 8th respectively.
All eyes on Q1
With only two Q2 spots up for grabs, a bunch of big hitters in Qualifying 1 sets the stage perfectly for a dramatic Q1 session on Saturday.
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) crossed the line with just over a minute left of P2, but despite setting a personal best the Ducati top dog didn’t have enough in the tank for Qualifying 2, and finished the day in a disappointing 13th place. The Italian did get one more bite at the cherry but a yellow flag in sector 2 halted the progress for the number 1.
Marco Bezzecchi’s Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati went up in smoke with 25 minutes to go, which saw the championship leader pull to the side of the Dani Pedrosa corner and make his way back to the pitlane. Having jumped onto his 2nd bike, the young Italian pushed on but it wasn’t enough as the Championship leader only managed 12th place and will face Q1 on Saturday.
The Grand Prix of The Americas victor Alex Rins (LCR Honda Castrol) also suffered misfortune at the Pedrosa corner, as the Spaniard went down and out of the session with 4 minutes to go. Placed down in 15th, the Honda man will be forced to join the two Italians as well as Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing in the Q1 battle.
Friday’s action served as the perfect appetiser to competitive action in Jerez de La Frontera. The stage is set for Qualifying and the Tissot Sprint. Find out which way the pendulum will swing in Saturday’s action, and be sure not to miss any of the billing with Free Practice up first at 10:10 local time (GMT +1)!
The new Quirónprevención MotoGP™ Health Center is officially launched at the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto
Quirónsalud has been looking after riders in the FIM MotoGP™ World Championship for more than a decade. For 2023 and with a view to future seasons, the relationship now expands once again to further strengthen the health care offered to the MotoGP™ paddock before, during and after each race.
The Gran Premio MotoGP™ Guru by Gryfyn de España, now underway at the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto, hosted the presentation of some key innovations in 2023, including the flagship new Quirónprevención MotoGP™ Health Center. A fully equipped healthcare space, the Center counts on the skill of a team of highly specialised professionals to cover all the healthcare needs that any member of the paddock may have.
Dr. Ángel Charte, Director of the Quirónsalud MotoGP Medical Team: “We have achieved a very powerful structure, with highly specialised professionals, especially in the field of rehabilitative physiotherapy, which assures we will be able to take care of the riders’ health at all times – especially in the recovery process after the demanding physical effort they make in each race, or when it comes to competing again after an injury, enabling them to do so in the best circumstances possible.”
The new Quirónprevención MotoGP™ Health Center incorporates state-of-the-art technology and the most complete equipment to treat all kinds of health issues related to the musculoskeletal system and/or tissue. It also counts on the expertise of a group of professionals specialised in the field of physiotherapy, nutrition and performance analysis, led by Jaime Benito, whose breadth of knowledge and experience guarantee the best diagnosis and treatment for each rider.
Throughout the season, the team will also carry out different assessments analyses on the riders, in addition to those already carried out by the Quirónsalud MotoGP Medical Team at the beginning of the season – enabling the team to obtain biomarkers, biomechanical factors and other useful information that will mean they’re able to define personalised recovery guidelines in terms of nutrition, hydration and rest.
The new Health Centre also joins the two intensive care cars that the MotoGP™ Medical Team has had for years, coordinated by Dr. Charte, which are perfectly equipped for the management of any emergency trackside care.
Fernando Camino, General Director of Quirónprevención: “The objective is to help the riders to compete in the best physical and mental health conditions, minimizing recovery times after the effort they make in each race.” Quirónsalud’s preventative health company also already collaborated with MotoGP™ after activity had been on hold due to the pandemic, designing a rigorous contingency plan at each circuit.
Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports: “We are proud to continue counting on Quirónsalud when it comes to offering the best care throughout the Championship, both to the riders and to all the members of the paddock. It gives us peace of mind to know that we are in the best hands.”
About Quirónsalud: Quirónsalud is the leading hospital group in Spain and, together with its parent Fresenius-Helios, also in Europe. In addition to its activity in Spain, Quirónsalud is also present in Latin America, predominantly in Colombia and Peru. In total, the group has more than 45,000 professionals in more than 180 health centers, including 58 hospitals with more than 8,000 beds. It has cutting edge technology and a large team of highly specialized professionals with international recognition and prestige. Among its centers are the Fundación Jiménez Díaz University Hospital, Teknon Medical Center, Ruber Internacional, Quirónsalud Madrid University Hospital, Quirónsalud Barcelona Hospital, Dexeus University Hospital, Gipuzkoa Polyclinic, General University Hospital of Catalonia, Quirónsalud Sagrado Corazón Hospital, etc.
The Group works to promote teaching – ten of its hospitals are university hospitals – and medical-scientific research. For example the FJD Health Research Institute is accredited by the Secretary of State for Research, Development and Innovation.
Similarly, its care service is organized into units and networks that allow the experience gained throughout the different centers to be optimized, and results and studies to be clinically transferred. Quirónsalud is currently carrying out a range of research projects throughout Spain, and many of its centers carry out cutting-edge work in this field, earning their place as pioneers across different specialties including oncology, cardiology, endocrinology, gynecology, neurology and more.
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Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) began his Gran Premio MotoGP™ Guru by Gryfyn de España in fine fashion as his untouched Practice 1 time of a 1:41.170 secured Day 1 honours for the Brit. With the temperatures rising significantly in the afternoon, the track became slick in Practice 2, and the riders were unable to improve on their P1 times. Somkiat Chantra (IDEMISTU Honda Team Asia) put the hammer down in P1 to take 2nd place with the top 3 holding strong on their P1 efforts. With the order unchanged it was Alonso Lopez (Beta Tools SpeedUp) who enjoyed a solid start to his home Grand Prix in P3.
Midway through P2 two fast crashes from Tatsuki Suzki (Leopard Racing) and Kaito Toba (SIC58 Squadra Corse) covered the tarmac at turn 11 in gravel, which brought out the red flags for the officials to clear the gravel from the circuit. The green flag was waving again soon after and the riders swarmed to the circuit for their final 20 minutes of Friday track action.
With MotoGP™ Guru, a game that has five-time World Champion Jorge Lorenzo as an ambassador, players can put their prediction skills to the test and engage in friendly competition with both friends and fellow fans alike. There is an impressive array of categories to choose from, including race winner, most positions gained, and much more. This means that there are plenty of ways to showcase your knowledge of the sport and put your skills to the test.
Pedrosa, a three-time MotoGP™ Spanish GP winner, was quick from the outset as he joins teammates Brad Binder and Jack Miller in factory KTM orange this weekend in a Test Rider wildcard appearance. The three-time World Champion left it late after dropping to P10 when the time attacks started to file in, but the Little Samurai unleashed the quickest time of the morning on his final flying lap. Sensational stuff from the famous #26.
Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VCDS Racing Team) flew to the top of the timesheets in Moto2™ Practice 1 to get his Gran Premio MotoGP™ Guru by Gryfyn de España off to the perfect start with a 1:41.170. The Brit had Somkiat Chantra (IDEMISTU Honda Team Asia) right on his tail as the Thaj rider put in a solid display only to lose the top spot in the closing stages of the session. Alonso Lopez (Beta Tools Speedup) also started strong as he rounded out the top 3 for his first session on home soil in 2023.
Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) has made a dominant start to the Gran Premio MotoGP™ Guru by Gryfyn de España after topping Moto3™ Practice 1 by over half a second thanks to a 1:46.173. Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) and World Championship leader Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) complete the fastest trio on Friday morning.
There was plenty for fans to ponder on the Thursday of the Gran Premio MotoGP™ Guru by Gryfyn de España, as the paddock returns to Europe ahead of the action at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) talks tactics and how he can stay out of the gravel trap, whilst his teammate Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) returned to the paddock to restart his season as a factory Ducati rider.
