In 2006 and 2007, young German hopeful Jonas Folger spent two years training at the Red Bull MotoGP Academy at Dorna in Barcelona. The Bavarian achieved his first international successes in the Spanish CEV Repsol 125 cc championship under the direction of Alberto Puig on a Honda RS 3R. This inevitably created connections.
Obviously Alberto Puig had esteem for his former foal, whose current absence he regrets, replaced by Hafiz Syahrin at Tech3. Folger competed in his first full season in 125cc in 3 and that year, the German immediately scored a podium at Le Mans. Crowned Rookie of the Year, the German driver moved two years later to Aki Ajo's team, for whom he achieved success in Great Britain. In 2009, Jonas Folger achieved another success in Moto3, then in 2014, he moved to Moto2, where he played for two seasons in the ranks of AGR. Winner at Losail and Jerez, the German then signed with Dynavolt Intact GP with whom he won the Czech Republic Grand Prix. In 2017, Jonas Folger finally joined the Monster Yamaha Tech3 team. His first magnificent podium came at home during a memorable German GP. Unfortunately his campaign was cut short by health problems, in the form of Gilbert's syndrome.
“I know Jonas very well, he started with us at Dorna Academy several years ago » explained Puig in a conversation with Speedweek.com. “When I found out he couldn't run this year, I was very sad. Because I think Jonas has immense potential. Really big. I don't know the origins. But I hope he can recover and come back. Because the sport of MotoGP is his world, he is a racer. I have known his family, his mother, his father, for a long time. I am really sorry for this situation. Jonas' absence is a big loss for MotoGP. Because we need people like him.
“I was very impressed with Folger at the German GP last year », admits Puig. “ It was truly remarkable. He has shown good racing in MotoGP before. But suddenly, that day, it hit hard – boom! I watched the race and thought, “ It's incredible ! ". Because he challenged Marc Márquez, a driver who is always super fast on the Sachsenring. It's true. It was impressive. I was really surprised. I was a racing driver myself. That's why I was so surprised. »
Back at Honda, which in this pre-season so far seems to be one step ahead of its competitors, Alberto Puig, as the team's new manager, prefers to be cautious: “ I would never say that we are superior to others. Our competition is very strong, Yamaha, Ducati, Suzuki, KTM. They are all very strong.
“Although it is true that during the winter we prepared things very well, the development department in Japan worked very hard and tried to resolve the problems that arose, because there were problems in recent years.
“In Qatar, we will present a motorcycle that could help our riders win races. We are lucky with two good drivers who fight in all kinds of situations and who will fight for victory. »
Photos © Motogp.com / Dorna and Tech 3
