EXCITING CONTENT now Alex ’ s ‘ corner man ’ - kinda like he used to have with him ringside at his fights . “ Yeah ! I am his corner man !,” he agreed . “ Right hand man as well , sort of thing .” Being a sportsman , albeit in a very different sport , helps Rocky understand the racer ’ s mindset , even if he is not a bike person . “ I have been in the same sort of situation where you have to be focused only on what you have to do . I think my calmness helps Al , and it rubs off a little bit . I am easy-going and stress free .” Rocky learned a lot of his new job by experience , and with help from others in the paddock . Things like visor choices and the nuances of role he has learned rapidly since his non-existent bike racing background . Now retired from professional boxing , this is Ryan ’ s full time job , effectively . Rocky ’ s post-boxing job works in well with his family life , even though he can be away for long periods of time . And never underestimate the gap left in the life of any pro-sportsperson when they retire . “ I would say 100 %, this has helped a lot . I just stopped boxing and had nothing to do . So I have had something to focus on since I retired with Alex . And with my family it has not been too bad . Being away from them - I miss them loads when I am away - but at the same time when I am home , I am at at home a lot as well . And you put that little bit of extra effort in when you ’ re home .” Friends are one thing , family is quite another , and Chaz Davies often relies on help from none other than his brother-in-lap , Michael Laverty . Yes , that Michael Laverty , who may well be the busiest man in racing . And there are a few candidates for that role . Still racing himself , he somehow finds time to be Davies ’ Rider Assistant when his own racing , and his BT Sport TV commentary for MotoGP™ races allow . ‘ M Lav ’, as he is known , to differentiate him from the John and Eugene varieties , started helping Eugene on race weekends in 2007 , and as Chaz was travelling alone he stopped helping his brother and started helping his brother-in-law . You know this is true because you can ’ t make this stuff up ! Davies also had an old friend , James assisting him on a professional basis at races until he scored a job working for Red Bull in Formula one and Chaz started to pay M Lav from 2016 on to help at races . But being a still-active rider , in World Endurance Racing now as well , and also helping out some riders with manager and advice , M Lav cannot always be at all Davies ’ races . Hence we saw the incongruous but large as life sight of Leon Camier - injured as a rider in his own right - shortly before he became the HRC WorldSBK team manager this year , working as Chaz ’ s rider assistant at Catalunya in 2020 . That Chaz Davies gets around in terms of who helps him and when at races ! People clearly get into the role of rider assistant from a variety of backgrounds . Now Michael van der Mark ’ s Rider Assistant , Simon Bentley is an old paddock figure , having worked as a mechanic , driver and in other roles since 2007 . “ I stayed with the same team , Racedays , for ten years ” said Simon . “ You just progress through . I ran the Junior Cup , STK600 and STK1000 teams as well . I have done all the jobs ! We were tied up with Honda for a long time .” So why this job now , after all that ? “ The opportunity came up with Leon Haslam ,” explained Bentley . “ The Junior Cup was no longer supported by Honda so I was in between jobs , if you like . We were not really sure what we were going to do with the team . Leon approached me and said he was coming back into the World Championship and he was looking for a driver for the motorhome , and a Rider ’ s Assistant . The driving part of it wasn ’ t really an issue for me , and the Rider ’ s Assistant was really interesting . You get involved with the teams and opportunities to learn and see that you would never get to see , because you are an integral part of the team . The assistant bit was new for me , so I sat down with the Kawasaki team and they explained what they expected from the role - because the team managers and the organisers of the
With Rocky being an ex-boxer and all , I cannot resist the analogy that he is now Alex ’ s ‘ corner man ’
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