Maddi Patterson is the founder and team principal of Sekhmet International Motorcycle Racing Team, which debuted in the inaugural FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship in 2024. Her journey from holding an umbrella at a motorcycle race to running her own racing team spans a decade of grit, entrepreneurship, and survival—including recovering from burns covering 60% of her body.

EARLY YEARS

The details of Patterson’s early life—where she was born, who raised her, what she dreamed about as a kid—remain largely unknown. What we do know is that her entry into motorsport didn’t follow the typical script. There were no karting championships at age eight, no racing lineage, no childhood spent wrenching in the garage with Dad. Her first job in motorcycle racing was, as she puts it, holding an umbrella. “As ridiculous as it sounds, that was my first job in motorcycle racing,” she’s said, laughing at the memory. It’s the kind of origin story that sounds made up until you realize it’s exactly how most women end up in this industry: through a side door, often by accident, rarely taken seriously at first.[1]

OTHER INTERESTS

Beyond the track and the boardroom, Patterson’s hobbies and personal interests remain a mystery. No public record exists of what she does when she’s not building a racing team or running her digital marketing agency. Does she read? Paint? Collect vintage helmets? We don’t know. What’s clear is that her professional life leaves little room for anything else—or at least, she’s chosen to keep those parts of herself private.

EARLY SUCCESS

About ten years before mid-2023—around 2013—Patterson’s career in motorsport began with that umbrella-holding gig. It was unglamorous, but it opened a door. From there, she launched Paddock People, her first agency, which specialized in staffing and support for racing events. She also co-founded Love My Ride, an e-commerce business selling motorcycle riding gear across Australia and New Zealand.[1] These weren’t racing victories in the traditional sense, but they were wins nonetheless: proof that she could carve out space in an industry that wasn’t exactly rolling out the welcome mat for women. By mid-2023, she’d built enough credibility, contacts, and sheer stubbornness to do something even bolder—start her own racing team.[1]

But before Sekhmet could make its debut, Patterson faced a challenge that had nothing to do with sponsorship budgets or rider contracts. In November 2020, she survived a catastrophic explosion that left her with severe burns covering 60% of her body.[2] The specifics of the incident aren’t widely documented, but the aftermath is: months of recovery, skin grafts, pain management, and the kind of physical and emotional rebuilding that would have ended most people’s ambitions. Patterson came back. Not just to work, but to founding a racing team in a brand-new world championship designed specifically for women.

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

• circa 2013: Started career in motorcycle racing holding an umbrella, leading to founding Paddock People agency and co-founding Love My Ride e-commerce business.[1]
• November 2020: Survived explosion resulting in severe burns covering 60% of her body.[2]
• Mid-2023: Founded Sekhmet International Motorcycle Racing Team to support women entering motorcycle racing.[1][3]
• 2024: Sekhmet debuted in the inaugural FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship, fielding American rider Mallory Dobbs and British rider Lissy Whitmore on Yamaha R7 motorcycles.[1][3][4]
• 2024: Ran digital marketing agency PHNX, working across motorcycling, aviation, automotive, and yachting industries.[1][2][3]

INSPIRATIONS

The name Sekhmet came from a coffee shop conversation in 2023. Patterson was talking with a friend about her idea to start a racing team when the friend said, “You remind me of this Egyptian deity Sekhmet.” The goddess—protector, warrior, fierce defender of friends—felt like the perfect fit. “It was a no-brainer for me,” Patterson recalled.[1] The name carries weight: Sekhmet wasn’t just powerful; she was protective, loyal, and unafraid to fight. It’s a mythology that suits a team built to challenge an industry that’s been skeptical of women from the start.

REPUTATION

Patterson is viewed as a trailblazer, though not in the traditional sense of being the fastest or the winningest. Her reputation rests on what she’s built: opportunities for women in a sport that hasn’t historically made room for them. Media coverage of Sekhmet has been overwhelmingly positive, framing her as someone who saw a gap and filled it—not with talk, but with action.[1][4] “I wanted to challenge this idea that women aren’t capable,” she’s said, and that mission seems to resonate both within the paddock and beyond it.[1] The fact that she’s doing this after surviving life-altering injuries only amplifies the narrative: she’s stubborn, resourceful, and unwilling to take no for an answer. Whether the industry sees her as a disruptor or simply someone doing what should have been done years ago depends on who you ask. Either way, she’s got people’s attention.

FUTURE GOALS/PLANS

As of 2024, Sekhmet Racing is focused on competing in the FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship, which includes six rounds at tracks like Donington Park and Portimão.[1][3] Beyond that, Patterson’s specific plans for 2025 and beyond remain undocumented. There’s no public record of sponsorship announcements, rider signings, or stated ambitions for expansion. What’s clear is that the team exists to do more than just show up—it’s designed to prove a point. “The opportunity to give capable athletes a shot in an industry that is inherently sceptical about them is incredibly humbling,” Patterson has said. “What a chance to do something different. To be the difference.”[1] Whether that means more teams, more riders, or more championships remains to be seen. For now, she’s focused on making Sekhmet work—and making sure the women she’s betting on get their shot.

References:

Females in Motorsport – Maddi Patterson: “I wanted to challenge this idea that women aren’t capable”
The Female Drive Podcast – Episode with Maddi Patterson (April 18, 2024)
MCNews – Tayla Relph, Maddi Patterson: Two Aussie Women to Feature in Inaugural FIM Women’s R7 Cup
Motorsport Week – Exclusive: Maddi Patterson Talks FIM Women’s Motorcycling World Championship Debut
Maddi Patterson Substack – She Who is Powerful (Or Something)