No Job for a Woman? Think Again!

Calm Hands Amid the Chaos

“Name another woman who does what I do.” Ask Abbey Sims what she does for a living and that is the challenge you are likely to get. She hates being asked, and she loves to brag about the answer.

Abbey is not a rally driver, and she has a polite, but firm reply for anyone who assumes she is there to hold the trophy and pour the champagne. She is the person who makes sure the RallySafe pre-event system is set up, then during the event, ensuring the system is installed and ready to race switched on and well understood, so that when an incident occurs in a remote corner of the world, help is already on its way.

Abbey manages SAS operations across Australia and New Zealand in a sport she calls “huge” on the male-dominated scale. No job for a woman? Think again! Strong, steady and self-sufficient, Abbey knows exactly how to look after herself and the business that was her father’s dream.

From Paddocks to the Back Roads

Abbey grew up on the family farm at Sprent, on the Central Coast of North West Tasmania. Her dad, Stephen, and her brothers raced cars. Abbey and her mum had the horses, and she competed in rodeo on horseback from the age of six until her early twenties. Her mum, who has spent about thirty years working in schools, remains the steadfast centre pivot of the family.

“It was the boys and Dad racing, and Mum and I had the horses.” – Abbey Sims

Motorsport was never her plan. Even so, she says the two worlds are not so far apart. Both carry a little danger and a good deal of buzz, and speed is the main difference.

A Firm “No” and a Finnish Flight

Abbey began with a school-based apprenticeship at the ANZ Bank in Ulverstone, then spent about six years in banking, in Hobart and on the coast. When her dad asked her to join RallySafe, she was blunt. “Absolutely not. Not working with you.” Instead, she trained as a teacher’s aide and spent a couple of years in a primary school over COVID, loving the one-on-one work with kids who needed extra support.

Then came a family trip to Europe and attending events in Finland, Germany and Turkey, where her elder brother Jobe was working an event. Abbey and her mum were officially on holiday. Two weeks in, her dad suggested Abbey stay on in Europe and help with the business side. She stayed for three months and changed her mind about quite a lot.

The Pocket Notebook Problem

In 2017, SAS had just taken on the World Rally Championship contract, and competitors were renting devices and paying in cash. Abbey asked a banker’s question: Where is the general ledger? The answer was “We don’t have one. I just keep some notes in a notebook.” “No,” said Abbey. “That’s not how it should work.”

Out went the notebook; in came proper processes, and keeping track of record of payments. Her banking years, which she had assumed were a detour, turned out to be exactly what the business needed. Back in Tasmania she built her knowledge of the Australian and New Zealand operation from the ground up. She started small and proved her skills to the business to be able to take this on. Jobe, who had worked his way up through Australian events, was not at first thrilled to find his sister on his patch. Today they work side by side and Abbey truly values the advice of her brother.

Calm, Competent and Quite Unscary

Abbey soon discovered she preferred to be at events, rather than behind a desk. Competitors tend to look worried when she walks in. “They’re usually scared when they see me coming, because they think they’re in trouble.” RallySafe monitors speed and sends warnings, so a visit from Abbey must mean someone has done something wrong. Her stock reply: “Don’t look so scared, I’m not scary. I’m just here to fix the system.”

“They’re paying thousands of dollars to enter this event and race and barely profit financially and get a trophy at the end of the day. I’m getting paid to be there, but that’s not how I see it. I see it them having a sense of security knowing they have Rally Safe watching over them, keeping them safe, alongside event organisers and emergency services.” – Abbey Sims

The job runs from admin to hands-on repairs (she always preferred woodwork to paperwork) to liaising with emergency services to help get someone the care they need.

Self-Reliant, Seldom Alone

At Australian events Abbey is often one of only one or two SAS people on site, and she is happy travelling solo. Does she ever feel out of her depth in a male-dominated industry? Not really. She credits growing up a farm girl with two brothers, and the friends she has made here at home.

“It is a very male-dominated industry, and I think growing up as a farm girl with two brothers shaped me into being able to deal with that very well.” – Abbey Sims

She is matter-of-fact about the rest. There have been times when she has told someone plainly that something is not okay, and she has never felt unsafe. “I don’t think you could pull any girl off the street and do what I do.” Her parents do not bat an eyelid when she flies across the world alone. Her dad is not one for a pat on the back. “He just expects me to do it. But he’ll tell everyone else how well I’m doing.”

Look at the evidence. This is a woman who can read a ledger, repair electronic hardware, juggle equipment across continents and liaise with event organisers along with emergency services in a crisis, all before dinner. She describes herself as “very self-sufficient, very independent”, and nobody who has watched her work would argue.

Barbados, Beaches and Busy Boarding Gates

The travel is the best part and the hardest part. Abbey has friends on every continent now. Barbados is her favourite posting (she first went in 2019 and returned in 2025), because the people are lovely and she can finish work and swim off the beach outside her hotel.

At home, her three young nieces, the children of her eldest brother Waylon, who has his own local business, Prowire, and supporting her wonderful grandparents in their nursing home are the reasons she is happy to stay on the coast. She admits to missing birthdays and some family events, but you sense that home and family is very important to Abbey Sims. When people overseas ask where she is from, “Where is Tasmania?” is the usual start. Then comes “Hobart?” and she explains: no, the North West Coast.

We know Central Coast has been a well-kept secret, but we are happy to let you, dear reader in on it, as long as you keep it under your hat!

Abbey Sims is proof that you don't need to hold the steering wheel to be at the heart of the race. She is strong, capable and firmly in charge of herself and her business, a farm girl who said “absolutely not” to the family business and then turned it into the job she loves. She keeps cars on course, competitors in the know and the Central Coast firmly on the map. We wouldn't have it any other way.

Getting to know Abbey Sims a little better was a breath of fresh air. Young, self-assured, confident and highly knowledgeable, this capable young woman is very impressive.

So by all means, smile and say hello when you see Abbey Sims at a rally somewhere around the world. But if you are in the car, remember who is running the hi-tech system that is watching over you. Don’t muck with this one. She is in control.

Photos: Millies Media and Terry Hill Photography