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It is hard to believe that in less than a decade one could go from being terrified of riding a motorcycle to representing the United States in the inaugural Women's World Championship. Yet that is exactly what Mallory Dobbs is doing. A civil engineer from Olympia, Washington State, the Sekhmet Motorcycle Racing Team rider in the FIM Women's Circuit Racing World Championship(WorldWCR) has in fact arrived at the start of the championship by following a decidedly unconventional path, which at the age of 30 is leading her to test herself for the first time on European circuits, after making her bones in MotoAmerica.
"I didn't ride a motorcycle until I was 22. I was honestly terrified of the thought of riding motorcycles on the street for the longest time," she told the organizers of the Women's World Championship, explaining how she got into the world of motorcycles, "I just remember my boyfriend at the time showing up to my house on a CBR600 with a spare helmet. I rode on the back of his bike for a couple of months before I decided that I would much rather have my own. My first bike was a 2007 Yamaha R6 that I bought in 2016. I remember the first couple of times I took it out I was too scared to take it out on the highway so I just cruised around town instead."
The beginning of a passion that soon led Mallory to try his hand at racing as well.
"I started racing at the amateur level six months after I started riding," she recalled, "In 2017 I bought a 2003 Yamaha R6 as my first race bike and raced with the Washington Motorcycle Road Racing Association (WMRRA) and the Oregon Motorcycle Road Racing Association (OMRRA). From 2017 to 2020 I would say I was a casual racer. I was racing for fun on the weekends with my friends. In 2018, I finished second overall in the Novice 600 class and throughout the years won various female championships."
Experiences that have made the U.S. realize that she has what it takes to compete at a higher level.
"It wasn't until 2021 that I decided to put some serious time and effort into my racing program. I started racing in the winter in Southern California, where I met Jason Pridmore. I got coaching from him in preparation for my MotoAmerica debut. I bought a brand new ZX6R and finished third overall in all of the 600 race classes I raced in that year," she recounted. "In 2022, I did my first two professional events in Supersport with MotoAmerica at The Ridge Motorsports Park and Laguna Seca. These two rounds were pretty successful and I decided to do a full season of Supersport and Superhooligans in 2023. I finished the season seventh overall in Superhooligans with multiple top 10 finishes, as well as a handful of Supersport points."
What motivated Dobbs to get serious about the sport? "I have always been a competitive person, but motorcycle racing was not my first interest. I grew up showing horses competitively at the world level. I got my first horse when I was 11 and I still have him. Motorcycle racing was something I started doing for fun and then realised I wanted to see how far I could go with it. I never would have imagined that I would be racing at the World level. Getting into racing was somewhat of a fluke for me. I started riding track days and met some really nice people that kind of just told me I should come out and try racing, and it didn't take much to convince me!" she said.
"Once I started racing, I really liked the community and became addicted to constantly working to improve. When I started racing in MotoAmerica, I got to see and interact with a lot more fans, and one thing that really inspired me to keep pushing to see how far I can go is seeing little girls get so excited to see a female rider," she added , " Being able to be a role model for kids, and little girls in particular, is something I really enjoy. Being a woman in the sport still has its challenges, and I really hope I can do my part to make it better for other women in the future."
To young girls who aspire to compete at the highest level, the American would then advise, "To find people who will always be supportive of you and surround yourself with them. This sport is hard and there will be times when you want to quit, it's normal. But having the support around you will make it that much easier to keep pushing. Never give up on your dreams! As cliché as it sounds, your dreams may seem big and daunting, but keep working towards them and they will happen, I am living mine right now!"
A goal that the 30-year-old has yet to fully realize she has achieved.
"It still feels like a dream to me! When I talk to people and tell them that I'm racing in the World SBK paddock, it still doesn't seem real to me. I never thought I would be able to say that! It means a lot to me to be the only American ," she acknowledged, "It's incredibly important, because racing is not just about me anymore. This is the first time in my life that I am representing my country, and the pressure is really on! There are a lot of really good racers in America, so to say that it's me representing our country instead of all the other girls I race with who I know are really good gives some weight to what I'm doing and motivates me to do everything I can to make my country proud."
Proud can only be Mallory's family as well. "They don't really understand why I enjoy competing so much, but they are my number one fans and support me in everything! I am an only child and it can be difficult for my father to see me compete live, but he is still very proud of me for pursuing my dreams," remarked the Sekhmet Motorcycle Racing Team rider, who has also found great support within the World SBK paddock.
"Members of the other American teams came to introduce themselves, because they know how hard it is to be the only American in the paddock. It's very cool," she recounted, " Part of Gerloff's team came up to me and said, 'Welcome, we want you to know you can be with us anytime, we want to make sure you're taken care of.' I appreciated that so much. I know what it means to be the newcomer. It's a nice community to be a part of and everyone has been very welcoming."
Automatic Translation by DeepL
