Jean-Michel Bayle Team HRC Sporting Manager

Born on the 1st April 1969, Jean Michel Bayle started riding motorbikes at the age of six. At 13 he won the 1982 Provence Championship before entering his first international event (the Paris Bercy Supercross) at the age of 16.

In 1986, Bayle started competing in both National and World 125cc Motocross Championships before switching to Honda machinery in 1987, where he earned his first national title (French 125cc class) and finished the World 125cc Championship in 3rd. That marked the start of a legendary relationship with Honda, the story of which is completed by his appointment as Team HRC’s Sporting Manager from the start of the 2015 MXGP season.

After becoming 125cc World Champion in 1988, Bayle competed in both America and in the Motocross World Championship (becoming 1989 250cc Motocross World Champion). In an unprecedented move, 1991 saw Bayle leave the World Championship to concentrate fully on American championships, where he became the first person in history to win the 250cc Supercross Series, 250cc National Championship and 500cc National Championship in the same year, all with Honda.

After conquering the dirt in both America and Europe Bayle looked for a new challenge, and found it on the roads. After a one-off appearance in the 1992 French Grand Prix, Bayle switched entirely to 250cc road racing for the 1993 season; earning top-five finishes in 1994 at the British and Czech Republic Grands Prix and a pole position in Argentina in 1995. In 1996, he made the move to the World 500cc Championship where he earned five top-five finishes and pole position in the Czech Republic.

In 2002, Bayle added Endurance to his list of sporting achievements, teaming up with Sebastien Gimbert and Nicolas Dussauge to win the Bol d’Or and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

In his role as Sporting Manager for Team HRC, he is uniquely placed to share the benefit of his huge experience and success with Evgeny Bobryshev, Gautier Paulin and Tim Gajser, guiding, nurturing and supporting them and the team as the factory outfit sets its sights squarely on emulating the sweeping success of the JMB era.

Career History