New Rider Line-Up for Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp at Argentina GP
. By Bikeland Staff
The Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp team have travelled from Portugal to Argentina for the back-to-back second round of the 2023 Moto2 World Championship. Manuel Gonzalez will be joined by Soichiro Minamimoto at this weekend‘s GP at the Autodromo do Termas de Río Hondo.
Gonzalez equalled his best score in the Moto2 class at the first round last week, securing a solid fifth place. The Spaniard is keen to fight for the podium again. Though he finished 14th in the 2022 Argentina GP, he is feeling confident that with more experience under his belt, he can fight at the front this time round.
As Kohta Nozane is recovering from a lower-back injury, Minamimoto will be joining the Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp squad as a replacement rider. Minamimoto is a former Yamaha VR46 Master Camp student who took part in the first and second edition of the training week for young talent in Tavullia. Before accepting this new Moto2 gig, the Japanese rider was active in the 2023 Asia Road Racing Championship, riding for the YAMAHA GEN BLU Racing Team ASEAN in the SS600 class. This weekend will be his first time trying a Moto2 bike and riding on Argentine soil, so he is keen to get to work.
The 4.8km long Termas de Río Hondo circuit was added to the MotoGP calendar in 2014. A devastating fire in February 2021 destroyed a large part of the paddock, but it has been rebuilt since then. With an exciting lay-out that includes a mixture of fast corners (five left, nine right) and a 1076m longest straight, the fans can be assured that they will see plenty of racing and overtaking action in Argentina again.
The Grand Prix of Argentina is held in the GMT -3 time zone. Moto2's P1 will take place on Friday from 09:50 - 10:30, local track time followed by P2 from 14:05 - 14:45. On Saturday, P3 will be held from 09:25 - 09:55 and the qualifying sessions from 13:45 - 14:25. On Sunday, the race starts at 12:15.
GELETE NIETO
GELETE NIETO
SPORTS DIRECTOR
We are back in Argentina, and we are so happy to be here with the huge support of the Argentine fans!
Manu likes this track. He had a good weekend last year, which was his first ever time here, and after the good result he had in Portimao, we are all very confident that we can repeat another great weekend.
It's very sad that Kohta‘s not here. What bad luck to get injured in the first GP weekend of the year. We will have Soichiro Minamimoto as our rider this weekend, a former Master Camp student. It will be challenging, because he comes from a different category, but for sure he will do his best.
MANUEL GONZALEZ
MANUEL GONZALEZ
I‘m happy to be back in Argentina! The fans here are great, I really like them. I was fast last year, and I had a good race. I think this weekend we can improve on last year‘s race result.
SOICHIRO MINAMIMOTO
SOICHIRO MINAMIMOTO
Joining Moto2 was a dream of mine when I was kid. This chance to go to Argentina is only possible thanks to Yamaha‘s support. I would like to enjoy riding during this great experience. I will try my best, and I‘ll work a lot with the team. We‘ll have fun!