MotoGP life behind the scenes: Petronas SRT comms boss Andy Stobart

Riders form only a part of the MotoGP championship. With almost two decades of experience within the motorsport community - including eight in charge of team communications inside F1 - Andy Stobart moved to the world of two-wheels in 2019.

Bikesportews.com caught up with Petronas SRT’s Head of Communications to find out the differences between the two premier-class championships and glean an insight behind-the-scenes of paddock life, after one of the most demanding seasons in GP history.

“The MotoGP paddock is a great place to be,” Stobart told us. “It has a lovely European and Asian flavour mixed with other nationalities too. It’s a friendly and accessible paddock, but still highly competitive on track. “In our team, we have a mix of 11 nationalities including Malaysians, Swedes, Dutch, Spaniards, English and Italians. There are many distinct characters. For a squad that operates across the three categories it’s a compact operation but equally one that’s grown rapidly over the past five years. The GP paddock and the team are both enjoyable and rewarding.” Explaining his individual role within the Petronas structure, Stobart continued: “The Head of Communications role entails a number of different functions, overseeing the team’s external communications as well as a lot of work for partners too.

“There’s a lot of planning and strategic work. The team is young and has big aspirations in terms of longevity and breadth so the schedule is always full. You start early and often work late. Fortunately, it’s an enjoyable and rewarding team which nourishes you with positive energy.” Having joined the Malaysian outfit in time for last year’s European rounds, his first full season in the championship was certainly far from the