Graduate goes full throttle on governance goals

The self-confessed revhead first lifted her leg over a pink Peewee 50cc at the age of four. Her instinct even then was to open the throttle, which ended with her flying into a barbed wire fence.

But that experience did nothing to put the brake on her passions. By the following year, her dad had taken her to her first Australian motorcycle grand prix and she was hooked by the 500cc monsters flying around the Eastern Creek circuit.

Since then, she’s travelled the globe to ride in, watch and organise in her favourite sport.

Even now, Alana confesses that she is at her happiest at a racetrack, surrounded by noise, the smell of fuel and rubber, and the buzz of high-speed racing. But off the track, Baratto is making the whole world of motorcycle racing better, especially for women.

As well as being a director at Motorcycling Australia – which represents the sport across several motorsports – Barrato is a representative at FIM (Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme), the world governing motorcycling body, where her focus is women in the sport. For her day job, she’s the head of marketing at Ducati Australia and New Zealand.

Her involvement has seen community events, rule changes, mentoring work and new development classes leading to a big boost to the number of women competing at national level and in the enduro class.

Baratto said the number of women riders has grown substantially in the past decade, and they are active in riding groups, coaching, events and Facebook groups, with thousands of members organising their own events.

Even so, Baratto told the Driven to Ride podcast, any passion needs nurturing. “Passion makes it easier to get out of bed, but it can still fade if you don’t keep engaging with it. You have to ride, watch races, feel the adrenaline, and keep that fire burning. I’ve seen passionate newcomers burn out after a few years if they stop doing that.”

That desire to keep the fire burning has helped Baratto’s focus as a director at Motorcycling Australia, where she is driven to “support and grow the sport”.

“My role involves helping create an environment where riders, volunteers and officials can participate and develop. We work to provide opportunities for elite athletes to compete while also encouraging broader community involvement.”

Baratto says her skills in marketing, communications and stakeholder engagement have been crucial in working with a board, especially on strategic planning and growth.

She nominates one of the biggest challenges for her sector as ensuring that access to tracks and other facilities continues to be available as venues move further from urban areas, which makes it harder for young riders to take up the sport. Cost-of-living pressures are adding to that to issue. “Addressing these issues means finding innovative ways to improve access and affordability so the sport remains viable,” she said.

But she said that young riders were essential to building “a foundation for lifelong involvement, whether as riders, volunteers or officials”.

Baratto said having completed the Diploma of Governance has given her a renewed focus on leadership, risk management and good governance.

At this point of her high-powered career, she would love to tell her 16-year-old self that “dreams do come true”. She said being involved with Motorcycling Australia and being able to represent women on the world stage in her favourite sport were both “huge dreams for me”.

But she also suggested that “dreams don’t come true without a lot of hard work”, and that goes for leaders in every field. Putting in the work can mean “waking up earlier than everyone else and going to bed after everyone else”.

There’s no doubting Baratto’s grit.

Baratto is among 37 women to have undertaken the Institute of Community Directors Australia Diploma of Governance with the help of the Australian Sports Commission. Others include paralympian Ellie Cole who featured in our newsletter recently.

More information

About the ICDA Diploma of Governance