Pic: Actiongraphers
actually come to my mind that it was a British Champion-
ship.”
The enduro had been entered because it was close to
where Stephanie lived and offered a category for female
riders.
“In the first five minutes I fell off and got rode over,”
she laughs again. “I was definitely out of my depth.”
It’s a subject that seems to bring joy as Stephanie con-
tinues. There’s a steely determination, Stephanie is some-
one who doesn’t give up.
“I ended up racing every round of the Championship
because so many people were really supportive,” she ex-
plains. “I think they respected my passion.”
“I probably shouldn’t have even been there … but no
one ever told me that. In fact, some riders even gave me
a few pointers.
“I remember someone coming up to me and telling me
that for them I was the best rider in the event,” Stephanie
shrugs. “I kept fighting and they saw a massive progres-
sion in my riding throughout the event.”
The initial racing had taken place aboard a small AJP,
supplied by the Portuguese manufacturer. As good as the
bike was, it wasn’t up to the job.
“The poor little bike got thoroughly abused,” Stephanie
smiles wryly. “It’s a good bike for a beginner however, it’s
definitely built for trail riding and not racing.”
Then came BMW. A chance sighting of an advertise-
ment while on a coffee break at work Stephanie noticed
that BMW were looking for riders to promote the new
(at the time) R1200GS. She’d ridden the big bike before,
having worked at a dealership for the German brand, and
loved it.
“I applied,” the grin is back. “I told them I loved the
bike, I love riding and I’m quite petite.”
The ploy was to convince BMW that she could inspire
others to ride big adventure bikes too. It worked.
Offered the job, this led to becoming a qualified BMW
Instructor where one of Stephanie’s greatest pleasures is
seeing others succeed and build confidence aboard the
big bikes.
“When they see me on the GS it gives them confidence
that with the right technique it can be done. There’s
nothing better than packing a bag with your tent and
a spare t-shirt and heading off on dirt tracks for a few
days.”
It’s that dirt that has drawn Stephanie in but even more
so is the thought of racing, racing and more racing. She
moved on to the European All Terrain Championship in
2017, albeit one race. A year later that same race, the
Hellas Rally in Greece, was Stephanie’s next race … a
12-month gap. It seemed to be a pattern yet 2019 has
seen that pattern broken and a new racing program has
begun.
“At the end of a race, six days of riding, I always go
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