ALVARO BAUTISTA
EXCITING CONTENT
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I didn ’ t really had a mentor , but definitely my dad was an inspiration to me . He ’ s always rode a bike , he ’ s even done a few motocross races . He ’ s a real enthusiast and I inherited the passion from him . I started riding the bike with him and he taught me . I rode with him for the first times on off-road before switching to road racing with the minibikes . Maybe I ’ ll be a mentor to someone else in the future , I ’ d like that . Anyway , my whole family is passionate about motorcycles , my mum and sisters too , and I think that ’ s what got me to where I am now .”
“ After winning the German championship three times , Dorna helped
TM
me a lot in their MotoGP academy in the Spanish championship ”
Jonas Folger
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JONAS FOLGER
At the very beginning my father was the person who helped me most , from age four until I was 12 . He was pushing a lot and working a lot and also investing a lot of money ! He was mainly helping with my riding and also mentally he gave me a lot of strength . I also had Ralf Waldmann at that time , who was helping me a lot on the track . Once a week he was watching us training at a Karting track . He was a great rider and a great person . He was teaching us kids in that area quite a lot . A lot of basic stuff . After winning the German championship three times , Dorna helped me a lot in their MotoGP™ academy in the Spanish championship , with Raul Jara , an ex-rider also . He was a great coach , always training us , on track and off track . Then I was on my own in the world championship for a while , at 16-17 , travelling and racing alone . I made a lot of mistakes at that time and had no one to take care of me until 2012 . My ex-mechanic and great friend Christian Lavero , he helped me out , was my coach he and took care of me . This was , I think , the biggest step and the greatest help I had . I turned from a child to a man and he was not just a coach but also friend . I was very thankful to have him at that time . So many guys have influenced and helped me in the past , without them I would not be who I am now .”
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