Mallory Dobbs

Mallory Dobbs is a Washington State civil engineer who went from buying her first motorcycle at age 22 to competing in the inaugural FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship—all in less than a decade. Her meteoric rise from casual weekend racer to international competitor proves that sometimes starting late just means you’ve got more to prove.

EARLY YEARS

Born around 1993-1994 in Olympia, Washington, Mallory Dobbs didn’t grow up dreaming of racing glory. There were no karting championships, no childhood spent wrenching in the garage, no family legacy of motorsports. She was a Pacific Northwest kid who became a civil engineer—practical, grounded, normal. Then at 22, somewhere around 2015 or 2016, she threw a leg over a motorcycle for the first time.

Six months later, she was racing.

It’s the kind of timeline that makes people who’ve been racing since they could walk do a double-take. Most racers start young because motorsports demands years of seat time to build the muscle memory, the spatial awareness, the sheer nerve required to go fast. Dobbs skipped all that. She went from zero to competition in half a year, purchasing a 2003 Yamaha R6 in 2017 and immediately entering amateur races with the Washington Motorcycle Road Racing Association (WMRRA) and the Oregon Motorcycle Road Racing Association (OMRRA). Track days had lit a fire, and rather than let it simmer, she formed Hobbit Racing—a novice racing group—and dove in headfirst.

From 2017 to 2020, Dobbs describes herself as “a casual racer. I was racing for fun on the weekends with my friends.” Fun, maybe. But she was also collecting female championships and, in 2018, finishing second overall in the Novice 600 class. Not bad for someone who’d barely learned to shift.

OTHER INTERESTS

Beyond her work as a civil engineer and her racing career, Dobbs keeps her cards close to the vest. There’s no public record of hobbies, side hustles, or creative pursuits—unless you count forming a novice racing team as entrepreneurial, which, frankly, you should. Before joining the 2024 FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship, she’d only left the United States twice, both times for vacations in Mexico. Racing in Europe that year marked her first visit to the continent, suggesting someone who’d spent most of her life focused on work and the track, not jet-setting.

EARLY SUCCESS

Dobbs’ casual racing phase ended in 2021 when she made a decision that would define the next chapter of her career: “It wasn’t until 2021 that I decided to put serious time and effort into my racing programme.” She sought coaching, bought a new Kawasaki ZX6R, and entered MotoAmerica—the premier motorcycle road racing series in North America. It was a massive leap from club racing, and she knew it. “When I made my MotoAmerica debut, I started racing against the best riders in the country. Your room for growth is so much higher than what you have at a club race, and it’s very humbling.”

Humbling or not, she finished third overall in all 600 race classes that year.

In 2022, she competed in two MotoAmerica Supersport events at Ridge Motorsports Park and Laguna Seca, testing herself against the national field. By 2023, she went full tilt, running both the Supersport and Super Hooligan series. The Superhooligans—a rowdy, bar-and-shield class featuring modified street bikes—became her sweet spot. Riding a Ducati Hypermotard, she earned multiple top-10 finishes, three top-seven results, and finished seventh overall in the series and 10th in the Mission Super Hooligan National Championship. She qualified for all but the last two rounds, a consistency that spoke to both skill and determination.

“Super Hooligan kind of gave me that little bit of a confidence boost,” she said. “Like, I’m doing it, and I’m actually doing pretty well. I earned my first top-ten finish in Super Hooligan. Really, it was more fun and enjoyable to be closer to the front.”

That fun paid off. In 2024, she was selected to join the Sekhmet Motorcycle Racing Team for the inaugural FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship (WorldWCR), a groundbreaking series aimed at elevating female racers onto the global stage. For someone who’d been racing for less than a decade, it was a staggering achievement—and her first time competing internationally. She performed consistently throughout the season, proving she belonged among the world’s best female riders.

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

• 2017: Started racing at amateur level with WMRRA and OMRRA, six months after first riding a motorcycle.
• 2018: Finished 2nd overall in Novice 600 class.
• 2017-2020: Won multiple female championships in amateur racing.
• 2021: Finished 3rd overall in all 600 race classes in MotoAmerica debut season.
• 2023: Finished 7th overall in MotoAmerica Superhooligans and 10th in Mission Super Hooligan National Championship with three top-seven finishes.
• 2024: Competed in the inaugural FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship with Sekhmet Motorcycle Racing Team, marking her first races in Europe.

INSPIRATIONS

Dobbs hasn’t publicly named heroes, mentors, or racing idols who shaped her path. What drove her from track days to world championship racing remains something she’s kept private—or maybe it’s simpler than that. Sometimes the inspiration is just the throttle, the apex, and the refusal to wonder “what if.”

REPUTATION

Mallory Dobbs has earned a reputation as someone who’s making up for lost time—and doing it quickly. Media coverage consistently highlights her rapid progression from weekend warrior to world championship competitor, with profiles celebrating her as someone “living the dream.” She’s known as a consistent performer when luck is on her side, with particular strength in the Super Hooligan class compared to Supersport. Her peers and the racing media recognize her late start not as a limitation but as proof of raw determination and natural ability. There are no controversies, no drama—just steady, impressive ascent.

FUTURE GOALS/PLANS

As of April 2025, Dobbs’ future racing plans remain unannounced. Her 2024 season with Sekhmet Motorcycle Racing Team in the WorldWCR has not been publicly confirmed for continuation, and no new contracts or series commitments have been disclosed. Whether she’ll return to MotoAmerica, continue in the women’s world championship, or chart an entirely new course is an open question. For someone who’s rewritten the timeline of what’s possible in motorcycle racing, the only certainty is that whatever comes next, she’ll tackle it at full throttle.

References:

WorldSBK Profile – Mallory Dobbs
Roadracing World – Mallory Dobbs Feature
MotoAmerica – Mallory Dobbs Articles
Off Track Podcast – Mallory Dobbs Interview
Cycle World – Women’s Circuit Racing Coverage
Sweet Life Brands – Athlete Profile