“I wonder whether I manifested it for myself”
I came into motorsport accidentally really. I was running a restaurant in Goa, India and my partner at the time was the chef. He would temp in the UK over the summers, and it just so happened that Shaun Muir was looking for a chef to help at British Superbike rounds. I was a big bike fan, so I told my partner he had to take the job! I went along as a spectator, and they were so busy one weekend that I started helping out. Soon after that, Shaun called to ask if I’d come and work in the hospitality. That was in 2003.
I wonder whether I manifested it for myself, actually… In a previous life, I was a nursery nurse, but I’d always wanted to work in a dynamic environment. One August weekend, I attended a WorldSBK round at Brands Hatch. We were spectators, sitting not far from where the hospitality units were. Someone asked me what my dream job would be, and I pointed towards the units, and said, I’d like to work there! A few years later, I was doing just that.
The art of managing the unexpected…
In terms of my role, a lot of things fall under my umbrella, so there’s hospitality and everything that entails, ticketing, team travel bookings, and I do our team clothing! We lost a sponsor during the pandemic, and I persuaded Shaun to apply for the licence with BMW to make our own team clothing and sell merchandise. It was addictive, but getting it all done – the preparation, signoff, production, selling it – brought joy, stress and tears, because I realised I’d overloaded myself, doing all that in addition to hospitality. Merchandising was another challenge – the uncertainty until the first jacket is opened and you spot a missing “R” in Motorrad, and you think: oh no, do all 7,000 pieces look like that? But I wouldn’t change anything!
And then I guess the day-to-day challenges are those aspects that fall outside of your control, like your team missing a flight. Things you cannot predict can cause stress, and you have to find the way. But I have great people around to help.
Commitment, sacrifice and support…
To do what I do, you need to be a people person, a team player, a leader. Most importantly, you must love what you do. This job is impossible without the passion, because it’s commitment, it’s sacrifice, you can never plan. People perhaps don’t understand that, or only see the glamorous side, but we miss a lot of events at home with family. It takes a lot of commitment, but if you are passionate about it, then it’s the job for you.
I never really experienced difficulties as a woman in this world but that might be because I’m on the hospitality side, an area where many women work. I would say there are still not enough women working at a higher level, in managerial positions. I imagine a lot of women think it might be difficult to get a foot in the door here, but the numbers are increasing. If you do a good job, believe in yourself and stand by your principles, eventually you’re going to land where you’re supposed to be. Your efforts will be rewarded; it’s about not giving up and being strong.
The cost and reward of racing…
The job has definitely changed me, in many positive ways. I get to live the life I always wanted. It’s an amazing environment, one of emotions, of watching people win and watching people fail, sometimes watching talent being wasted, a lot of different things. It changed me as a person to see how difficult it can be at times to live that dream, for people who put their money behind it, for people who sometimes lose children to it. There are so many different aspects to racing.
This world has also taught me what a group of people can do together. When I watch our technicians working together in the garage, their job is no different to a surgeon, you know, the responsibility of sending someone out on the bike, anything can happen. You have to be so switched on. I have great respect for the guys I work with, and great gratitude to everybody.
Working here has made me tougher I think, and it’s probably caused me lose friends, because you stop being invited to things. My life is based around the race calendar and I’m always very busy. My mum is in Poland, while I am based in England. I have a stepdaughter but don’t have children of my own. I sometimes feel that the demands of my work may have played a role in that, but I made that choice at the end of the day, and the job has brought a lot more wins than sacrifices.
When the dream became reality…
The highlight was winning the championship in 2024 and 2025 with Toprak Razgatlioglu. The adrenaline of success, of chasing a dream, and that was a dream come true. The titles came after a nine-year wait, as we arrived in the championship in 2015.
That first win for Toprak in Barcelona, against all the odds, was proof that anything can happen. Then, as the season went on, we started to realise that the odds were in our favour. But then came Magny-Cours, where Toprak crashed and got injured, and I realised you can never take anything for granted.
I also got to hold the umbrella for the world champion on the grid – something a lot of girls might dream of doing! I always wondered what the start/finish straight looks like from pole position, with no one in front of you, and I found it really rewarding to experience that atmosphere on the grid.
The other memorable thing was when Shaun announced we’d be going to WorldSBK, at the end of 2015, that was really big for me. I was 100% on board when he announced the move, and very proud of the team. We’d won BSB the previous year but then we came to WorldSBK and quickly understood the difference in level; it was a real eye opener. So, I know what it feels like to start from the beginning and learn year by year, but I also know that our outfit is highly professional and everyone who works here does a really great job.
Driven by success and team spirit…
My motivation to carry on? Winning! Definitely winning. And the satisfaction of seeing people enjoy the weekend. Perhaps you open your laptop and see an email from a guest thanking you for their weekend. That’s what we’re selling at the end of the day, the entertainment that is WorldSBK.
With colleagues or newcomers to the team, I probably have a reputation for being quite stern at times, but I just believe that you’ve got to remember what you’re here for. It’s a contract you’re entering in to, and you’ll be part of it all, good and bad. In the end we’re here to win, we’re here to support the team, we’re here to do a job. It’s racing, and it’s so important that everything works correctly. We have more of a responsibility than people perhaps think. But I believe I live the dream. And that’s what motivates me.
The power of dreaming big…
I’ve been here a long time, but I believe that we all have a place here and all have so much to give. Age is just a number, at the end of the day. If there’s someone better who can replace me, by all means let them, but until that happens, I believe I have a place here and bring a lot of experience, maturity and understanding.
I always say, dream big, because anything can happen. It’s your life to live, and it’s always better to try than not try! One memory I have is of Jonathan Rea when he was about 18. I was running the hospitality for Honda in BSB, and I remember seeing him and thinking, I wonder what’s going to happen to him. And look what happened to him. He became a legend beyond legend! He really sums up what you can achieve if you truly believe.
