Yamaha Champions Riding School
The Yamaha Champions Riding School (YCRS or ChampSchool) is a motorcycle school based in the United States at New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJ) and Inde Motorsports Ranch (AZ); the school aims to improve the safety and efficiency of any pavement-bound rider, street or track.
YCRS launched at Miller Motorsports Park in 2008, a year after the Freddie Spencer High Performance Riding School closed. Spencer school instructors Nick Ienatsch and Ken Hill teamed with Yamaha and Miller until 2013, when they left Miller and teamed with new co-owners Josh Siegel, Keith Culver, Chris Peris, and Limore Shur to relaunch the school at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Hill left YCRS in 2015 to work at Rickdiculous Racing for multi-time-YCRS-graduate Adam Bronfman. In 2019 David Bober joined the YCRS ownership team.
PROGRAMS and LOCATIONS YCRS teaches "Champions Habits", the approach used by the world's best riders to thrive and survive on two wheels, and they teach it in a wide variety of programs. The premier program is the two-day ChampSchool, an immersive all-encompassing look at riding safely at any pace. ChampSchool included bike- and gear-rental availability, daily video review and catering. One-day programs include ChampDay and ChampStreet, the latter designed for street riders on street bikes, no racing gear required. There is also a four-hour version of ChampStreet, often held in a large parking lot. ChampMil is a Level 3 class designed specifically for the United States Marine Corps riders.
YCRS civilian programs are taught at: New Jersey Motorsports Park; Pitt International Raceway; Carolina Motorsports Park; NC Bike; Palm Beach International Raceway; Homestead Motorsports Park; Inde Motorsports Ranch; Street of Willow Springs; Buttonwillow Raceway, High Plains Raceway.
YCRS USMC programs are taught at the following bases: Miramar; Yuma; Cherry Point; Quantico
INSTRUCTION PRIORITIES YCRS believes in personalized riding instruction and keeps class size small with a high instructor-to-student ratio. The school prioritizes four core Champions Habits: Mental Focus; Understanding Traction; How Speed Affects Radius; Establishing Direction. Within these four core habits comes visual priorities, trail-braking, steering, throttle management, body position...all equated back to how the riders' inputs affect motorcycle behavior.
ChampSchool has a certified-coaching program called Champions Certified Coach (3C) that involves a minimum of six days of school to earn. Instructor AJ Ciampa runs the 3C program.
ChampBody is a fitness program for riders featuring Jennifer Peris and Dr. Matt Tolstoy.
ChampSchool is closely aligned with and supportive of Trackday companies: N2; TrackTime; XCel; Trackdaz; Legion of Speed
INSTRUCTORS and YCRS TEAM MEMBERS Lead instructors Nick Ienatsch and Chris Peris are assisted by: Kyle Wyman; Mark Schellinger; Louis Ferrari; Eziah Davis: Ben Walters; Cody Wyman; AJ Ciampa; David Bober; Michael Henau; Rob Cichielo; Brian Smith; Ryan Burke; Mark Thompson; Bill Davis; Steve Roth; Steve Ritchey; Jason Redman; Joey Clark; Billy Sink; Elena Meyers. Past YCRS instructors: Shane Turpin; Dale Keiffer; Ken Hill; Daniel Short; George Grass; Phil Horowitz YCRS Operations headed by Keith Culver with Steven Roth; Michael Bataglia; Mark Thompson YCRS Marketing headed by Limore Shur with Chip Spalding; Alex Hatfield
Guest superstar coaches often appear at YCRS, racers such as: Roger Hayden; Scott Russell; Bradley Smith; Cam Beaubier; Josh Hayes; JD Beach