Yamaha Champions Riding School Instructor Bios

Nick Ienatsch, Lead Instructor

Nick spent the last 11 years heading the Freddie Spencer High Performance Riding School and writing for Cycle World magazine. His racing resume includes two AMA SuperTeams national championships with Erion Racing and four top-three annual finishes on Yamaha’s TZ250 in AMA 250GP competition. Throw in some WERA GNF championships, a pair of No. 1 plates at Willow Springs and you get the picture. Nick still races, plays at track days and rides on the street and in the dirt.

Ken Hill

Ken has been a dominating fixture in the northern-California club scene for almost a decade, racing at the front of the AFM crowd and finishing in the top 10 when mixing with the AMA Superbike field. The Spencer School hired Ken in 2003 and he worked there until the school closed in 2008. Ken tests and writes for Roadracing World magazine and continues to race and enjoy track days on bikes and in cars.

Dale Kieffer

Dale stays busier than a dog at the Alpo plant. As the owner of The Racer’s Edge in Las Vegas, Nevada, Dale stays close to the sport he loves. He continues to race and do track days, including hosting them through his business. He is also a major retailer for Michelin tires. Dale’s impressive racing resume includes multiple club class championships, plus a pair of national No. 3 plates in AMA competition. Dale worked at the Spencer School for nine years until it closed in 2008.

Shane Turpin

Shane “Tornado” Turpin has dominated club racing in Utah and Colorado for almost a decade, winning multiple class championships to date. He has stood on the AMA podium as well in ProThunder, and is the national sales manager for Bimota. Shane is devastatingly fast in every discipline of racing, from Supermoto to roadracing to motocross, and worked with Nick, Ken and Dale at the Spencer School.

Mark Schellinger

Mark has a pair of No. 1 plates on the wall from Colorado’s MRA and is also the club’s new-rider coach and representative. He runs the Michelin tire distributorship for the Rocky Mountain region and can be found on his street or dirt bike just about every weekend. Mark had joined the other four instructors at the Spencer School for special Michelin programs and has worked extensively with Nick on rider training. He also trains military personnel in advanced driving techniques.