People

Stuart Sykes

Born in the university town of St Andrews - the home of the game of golf - in Scotland, Sykes was drawn to Grand Prix motor racing by the exploits of Scottish driver Jim Clark.

Stuart studied modern languages and, as part of his university course, spent a year teaching at Le Mans in France, home of the world-famous 24 Hour sportscar race. He happily volunteered to translate for the accreditation department.

He was by now a regular reader of motor racing magazines but it was rather more serious literature to which he was drawn by his career. When he graduated he decided to stay on and complete a Masters degree and then a doctorate in French. His thesis - which later became a book - was a study of the Twentieth Century French novelist Claude Simone, who went on to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1985. Stuart remains the world's greatest authority on Simone.

In 1973 Sykes turned to teaching, becoming a lecturer in French at Liverpool University. For the next nine years he taught students how to conquer French language and literature.

And then one day he decided he had had enough of being an academic. He quit the university and applied for a job as a journalist in the sports department of the British Broadcasting Corporation's teletex information service. He covered different sports but specialized in Grand Prix racing. He wrote two books about Formula 1 for the BBC and after four years at the BBC was lured away to work for CSS Promotions, a sports marketing agency with strong links in F1. He worked as the sponsor liaison between the Tyrrell team and computer company Data General.

When that job came to an end he was asked to edit a Formula 1 magazine called Prix Editions. After that closed down Sykes decided he would like to settle in Australia, having enjoyed his visits for the Grand Prix in Adelaide. He set himself up as a freelance journalist, translator and sometime lecturer at Melbourne University until 1995 when he was asked if he would like to be Publications Manager for the event in Melbourne.

He spent just one year working for the Grand Prix office before fellow Scotsman Jackie Stewart asked him if he would look after the public relations for the new F1 team. He stayed with , Stewart for a year before returning to Australia, where he works as a freelance journalist and does occasional teaching jobs.