From fighting on four wheels in rally racing as a teenager before finding her place in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship paddock, Sponsorship and Marketing Manager for Yamaha, Sarah Byles has worked across both WorldSBK and WorldWCR. She has used her organisational skills, an ability to adapt on the fly, and a fearless ‘have a go’ mindset to progress to work with championships like the World Rally Championship, World Endurance Championship, and F1, but she has found a home in the open arms of the WorldSBK paddock.
Fuel in the blood…
Byles was born into a motorsport-adoring family in New Zealand, where her father – a former rally driver in the 1980s – fostered an interest in motorsport. Following in her father's footsteps, she started competing in clubsport at 13 years old.. Earning her national rally license at 15, she competed as a teenager before deciding to retire from racing and enrol in university, where she aspired to work in the racing industry. She managed to land a gig with Rally New Zealand in 2007, getting her foot in the door and paving the way to future success.
‘Having a go’
Landing that first job with Rally New Zealand in 2007 proved vital to her career trajectory, putting her on a path to continue working in New Zealand, then Australia, before pulling up stakes and making the leap to the UK, sight unseen. Despite her unfamiliarity, she managed her visa situation, called to adventure by what she calls her compatriots’ ‘Have a go’ culture; being beckoned abroad to, as she would go on to do, try her hand beyond the national level in her craft. Her courage was well rewarded, as she went on to work with globe-spanning championships such as the World Rally Championship, World Endurance Championship, F1, and Formula E.
On her professional trajectory, Byles said: “After graduating, I worked on national motorsport accounts for a PR company in Wellington. Then, after a brief hiatus in Australia, I moved to the UK without ever having been there! I wanted to try and work in world-level motorsport. New Zealand has a ‘have a go’ culture, and an overseas experience is very much part of this for us Kiwis, so I figured I’d try, and if it didn’t work out, I’d just go home. I think it’s important to try, and when you’re younger, you perhaps don’t think too much about what might go wrong! I was lucky and managed to find work on international accounts in World Rally, F1, Endurance and Formula E.”
A growth mindset
In 2018, she joined the World Superbike paddock, where she began working on social media, growing the team's presence while on track. Turkish star Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) landed Yamaha their first Riders’ World Championship since Ben Spies back in 2009. Now helping the WorldSBK team’s rider duo of Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) and Xavi Vierge, she similarly contributes to the WorldWCR teammates of Beatriz Neila (Ampito Crescent Yamaha) and Chloe Jones. She’s grown to play a multifaceted role within the team, managing things from the pit box layout to the rider leather designs.
On her start with WorldSBK and her role since then, Byles said: “When I started in my current role in 2018, I was essentially looking after sponsors and managing social media. I've grown the team's Instagram account from 2,000 to nearly 100,000 followers, which is a nice achievement. And the team has grown too. Of course, Toprak Razgatlioglu won the championship with us in 2021; we have Andrea Locatelli in his sixth year, and Xavi Vierge with us too, while Beatriz Neila is joined by Chloe Jones on the WorldWCR team. I’ve also taken on additional responsibilities over the years. When I was studying, I knew I’d need to be adaptable to work in motorsport. With my journalism degree, I took papers in design, photography, video… And now part of my role is ensuring all the layouts for the pit box, truck, clothing, riders’ leathers are coherent. I cover such a wide range of tasks that I use every single skill I've learned over the last 17 years.”
Pressure, pride and perspective…
Like many in the Yamaha camp, that 2021 season still shines bright in her memory. As WorldSBK lovers would come to see as his gilded career continued, eccentric celebrations would come to be a fixture of the wins he so frequently earned. The logistics of his emotional first World Championship celebration can largely be chalked up to the efforts of Byles, in fact, who coordinated the stunt from the golden leathers down to his celebratory burger prior to the decisive race.
On one of the brightest moments of her career so far, Byles said: “My proudest moment to date was being part of the Championship-winning team in 2021. I don't think I slept very well for the entire last week in Indonesia. I remember Dorna asking in Argentina what we had planned in case of victory, but I’d never done it before! I had to make sure it all came together, that the gold leathers had the sponsors, that the T-shirt had all the team members' names on the back. Paul had me take Toprak for a burger on the Thursday evening before we won the championship just to make sure he had a good meal that suited him, which was a nice memory.”
Women supporting women
With tighter margins and more riders packed into the same corner, motorcycle racing on track has quickly grown to a place of prominence in her heart. While rally racing was always her first love, the WorldSBK paddock and the WorldWCR garages within it have become something of a second home to Byles. Building on that, Byles states she appreciates the close-knit nature of WorldWCR and the entire paddock in general. While riders might go elbows-out on track, riders and their teams still support and socialise with one another, a rare case in the high-octane world of motorsport.
On her feelings today in the paddock, Byles said: “Coming from rallying, I never thought I’d enjoy circuit racing as much as I do. Motorbike racing is so exciting; I mean, you won’t see three drivers heading into the same corner together in Formula 1, so close you can literally see the calculations! And there's no better platform for that than a one-make series, as Yamaha has helped establish with the WorldWCR. Another reason I've stayed in this paddock so long is that it’s very open. You’re competitors on track but can socialise and speak to different teams if you have a problem; people are happy to support each other. There’s an amazing group of women working all kinds of roles in WorldSBK and seeing that there are no barriers is inspiring and makes me feel proud to be part of this sport.”
WorldWCR returns at Donington Park for their penultimate round; watch all the action by subscribing to the WorldWCR YouTube channel and following the Championship on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook!