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Once upon a time, in a racing galaxy very, very near at hand, the role of ‘rider assistant’ was almost non-existent. Sure, some riders and some teams had people involved who would help the riders out, but that would often be people who had other roles to play or who were simply friends or family, just lending a hand. Now in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, they’re commonplace, but what exactly does a WorldSBK rider assistant do?

In the past most riders were fastidious with preparation of their own riding kit and drinks, etc., or simply had no choice in the matter if they were just too busy. But increasingly riders’ assistants have become just that - full-time assistants, who basically look after almost everything non-technical during a race weekend to let their rider get on with riding, debriefs, thinking about riding, sleeping, riding some more, thinking about how to win some more…

Possibly the most visible Rider’s Assistant is Jonathan Rea’s long-time helper and Motorhome driver, Kevin Havenhand. Particularly visible not just because he is as close to Jonathan in practice sessions and races as social distancing rules allow, but because he is a very tall bloke in real life, and seemingly always on the screen because JR is a six-times champion. ‘Kev’, as he is known to Jonathan and all, had a very different career path in mind when left school in England, but it was still a path that needed dedication and focus. And a good aim would have been useful too… “To cut a long story short I spent 26 years in the British Army,” said Kev. “I was commissioned through the ranks. I went as high as I could as a soldier and then got commissioned to Captain.”

Eventually not being able to go on operational tours after being a ‘hands-on’ solder for so long, Kev grew bored in the desk job he inevitably had to do after promotion and got a bit disillusioned. Starting off as Jonathan’s Motorhome driver mostly, Kev’s restlessness waiting around to drive him again on race weekends saw him ask Ronald Ten Kate if he had any jobs going in hospitality. He did, so Kev’s approach to a race weekend saw him setting up Jonathan’s motorhome on a Tuesday, working in the Ten Kate Honda hospitality all weekend, then packing up the motorhome on Monday, to head home or to the next race.

With everything in racing so structured, and so many small details all having to be done when needed, changing weather or other challenges needing to be reacted to, Kev’s army experience can come in useful. “The British Army works on drills, a drill for everything,” said Kev. “Jonathan likes everything the same - leathers, helmets, everything laid out exactly the same. Unless he wants to change things and tells me so, there is no deviation.”

On the opposite end of the spectrum of how to end up in the same job but come from a very different direction, is Alvaro Bautista’s rider assistant, Mario. He and Alvaro aren’t just in an employer/employee duality - they grew up together in their home town of Talavera de la Reina, located to the west of Madrid. They were racing pocket bikes together, from about four years of age! Their fathers were even friends before either Alvaro or Mario showed up.

Both Mario and Alvaro still live in the same town they grew up in: “I went to work with Alvaro in GPs in 2013, and continued since then,” said Mario. “My work in the race is to make sure that Alvaro is only thinking about the race. The suits, boots, helmets, I look after. I have rapid service arranged with Scorpion helmets, Sidi, etc, to make sure it is ready all the time.”

As well as doing this travelling job, Mario also has his own paint shop back home, where he works between races. “I paint helmets, cars, bikes, all,” said Mario. One quirk of Mario’s working life with his old mate Alvaro is that although he travels everywhere with him, only Alvaro drives the hire cars. Even if it is for hours at a time to get to races or airports, after a long trip. “I am only the co-driver, looking at the map on the phone shouting, ‘Left! Right! Left? Stop!’”

Another kind of almost accidental professional rider assistant is Alex Lowes’ guy, Dave ‘Rocky’ Ryan. He’s as much Alex’s personal friend as an employee, but there is really no old-timers motorcycle connection. Rocky is a recently retired pro boxer, a fighter. He first met Alex Lowes in the gym they both worked out in, and they both had the same strength and conditioning coach, Kirk Gibbons. “We used to train together in the mornings,” said Rocky. “At the beginning I probably knew zero about bike racing, but we ended up spending a lot of time together, playing golf, going out for meals with friends. I am a few years older than Al - although I don’t look it - and I said, ‘when I retire from boxing I will come and travel with you, help you out with whatever you do, be your assistant.’ I think 2016 was my last fight and from 2017 that is what I have done.

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.”

Michael van der Mark is a rider Simon Bentley has known for a long time, even though they just started together this season in their new roles - him as factory BMW rider and Simon his rider assistant. “I have known Michael for years, and when I say years, I mean going back to his STK600 days. My team was always racing against him until he moved up out of Supersport and then he started his Superbike career. But I had always been really good friends with him.

Bentley says the job is getting more complex, not less. “The obvious thing you can see is preparing all their equipment, you are there for them on the grid, and they have their own little routines. Modern riding equipment… there is lot more tech in them, air bags that need charging and checking and changing. Obviously also keeping things presentable, making sure the riders are hydrated, make sure they get a recovery drink and get enough hydration every day. Sometimes it is also silly little things like ‘would you be able to take these tickets down to the car park for me?’ Things like that. The more time you can take from them the more they can spend with the crew chief. They don’t need stress.”

The rider is the boss and the Rider’s Assistant is not, of course, but it appears that whatever the rider needs most is somebody who is there when they are needed, making their potentially stressful weekends go like clockwork and without interruption or added drama. In other words, someone who is dependable.

Story courtesy of the WorldSBK Official Programme.

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