Mary McGee was a pioneering motorsports racer who became the first woman to accomplish feats across both car and motorcycle racing that male competitors hadn’t even dared attempt—and she did it all while wearing a pink polka-dot helmet.

EARLY YEARS

Born in 1936 in Juneau, Alaska, Mary McGee entered the world during a time when women were expected to stay firmly in their lane—and that lane definitely didn’t include racetracks. During World War II, she and her older brother were sent to live with their grandparents in Iowa, far from the Alaskan frontier of their birth. Her brother would become a race car driver, and in the 1950s, he did what good older brothers do: he encouraged his sister to take up the most dangerous hobby imaginable. McGee’s love for auto racing ignited in that decade, setting her on a path that would rewrite the record books.

In 1957, at age 21, she bought a 200cc Triumph Tiger Cub from a friend and learned to ride a motorcycle. It was a decision that would launch not just a racing career, but a revolution.

OTHER INTERESTS

Mary married a man named Don and had a son, both of whom regularly attended her competitions and supported her unconventional career choice. Beyond racing, McGee devoted herself to promoting the motorcycling lifestyle to women throughout America with what the AMA described as “unrelenting passion and spirit.” Her life became the subject of the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary Motorcycle Mary, directed by Haley Watson and executive produced by Ben Proudfoot, ensuring her story would inspire future generations long after she hung up her helmet.

EARLY SUCCESS

McGee started racing SCCA sports car events in the late 1950s and showed immediate promise, piloting a Mercedes 300SL as the first woman to compete in the organization. She cycled through an enviable garage of machinery—AC Bristol, Ferrari Berlinetta, Lotus 18, Porsche Spyder, Ferrari Testa Rossa—often finishing on the podium. Porsche dealer and former motorcycle racer Vasek Polak noticed her talent and recommended she try motorcycles to improve her Porsche Spyder skills. He was right: she started winning races.

Between 1957 and 1960, she shifted to motorcycle road racing on a 125cc Honda CB92, sporting that signature pink polka-dot helmet. The American Federation of Motorcyclists, unsure what to do with a woman who wanted to race, required her to complete a “tryout” before granting her license. She passed, becoming the first woman in the United States to hold an FIM license. By 1960, she became the first woman to race in an FIM-sanctioned road race in the U.S.

Then Steve McQueen showed up at a New Year’s Eve party in 1963 and changed everything. He ribbed her mercilessly about her “pansy road-racing bike” and told her she needed to get out to the desert. She listened. McGee trained with the legendary Ekins brothers and made the switch to dirt and desert racing. She entered her first AMA District 37 enduro in 1963 on a 250cc 1962 Honda Scrambler, becoming the first woman to do so. She also became the first woman to race motocross in the United States and the first to compete in international motocross events when European riders came stateside.

McGee faced relentless backlash for being a woman in a male-dominated sport, but she kept showing up. In 1964, her brother died in a car accident. She continued racing because, as she put it, he would have wanted her to. Later, she survived a head-on highway collision and discovered she was pregnant—and still kept racing. She was a woman who never learned to quit and always said yes.

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

• Late 1950s: First woman to race with the SCCA, driving a Mercedes 300SL.
• 1957-1960: First woman in the United States to hold an FIM license, racing a 125cc Honda CB92.
• 1960: First woman to race in an FIM-sanctioned road race in the United States.
• 1960s: First woman to race motocross in the United States and first woman to compete in international motocross in the U.S.
• 1963: First woman in AMA District 37 enduro, riding a 250cc 1962 Honda Scrambler.
• 1967: First woman to ride and finish the Baja 500 on a motorcycle.
• 1968: First woman to finish the Baja 1000/Mexican 1000, driving a Datsun minitruck.
• 1975: First person—man or woman—to finish the Baja 500 solo on a motorcycle, riding a 250cc Husqvarna and finishing ahead of 17 two-man teams. She described this as her most difficult endeavor and the one of which she was most proud.
• 2012: Received the FIM Woman Legend award.
• 2018: Inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.
• 2023: Inducted into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame (ORMHOF).

At age 80, McGee was still competing in vintage events in the Over 70 class, because apparently retirement wasn’t in her vocabulary.

INSPIRATIONS

Mary McGee’s racing career was jump-started by her older brother, a race car driver who encouraged her to enter the sport. Vasek Polak, the Porsche dealer and former motorcycle racer, mentored her early on and persuaded her to try motorcycles to sharpen her car racing skills—a suggestion that changed her life. Steve McQueen played a pivotal role when he ribbed her at that 1963 New Year’s Eve party about her road racing bike and convinced her to switch to desert racing. He later persuaded her to tackle the Baja 500. The Ekins brothers trained her in dirt racing, giving her the skills to dominate off-road.

As McGee herself put it: “Being a woman on a motorcycle somehow makes you feel more important, like you’re telling the world, ‘I can do this.'”

REPUTATION

Mary McGee is regarded as one of motorsports’ most important pioneers and one of the most influential women in the history of the sport. She’s recognized as the most acclaimed female pioneer in desert off-road racing and motocross, a trailblazer who inspired generations of women riders through acts of courage in the face of gender-based backlash. Her peers describe her as a legend in off-road racing and a woman who never learned to quit.

AMA President and CEO Rob Dingman said, “Mary McGee devoted her life to promoting the motorcycling lifestyle to women throughout America, and did so with unrelenting passion and spirit. Her contributions to motorcycling will never be forgotten, and her legacy within our sport will live on forever.” Even Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton paid tribute on Instagram after her death in 2024, writing: “I’m deeply saddened to hear that Mary McGee, the first woman to road race motorcycles in the U.S and the first person to solo the Baja 500 has passed on… Her legacy will live on as a trailblazer in the world of motorsports and beyond.”

She was among the first racers—male or female—to receive sponsorships from major brands, and she actively mentored other women in racing throughout her career. McGee didn’t just break barriers; she obliterated them, then turned around and helped other women climb through.

During her 2023 induction into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame, McGee told the audience: “I am very, very happy to be a member of this Hall of Fame. I am a very lucky woman…and I want to tell you, get out and ride!”

FUTURE GOALS/PLANS

Mary McGee passed away in 2024 at the age of 87 or 88, still revered as a motorsports legend. She had continued competing in vintage racing events well into her 80s, proving until the very end that she was a woman who would never stop saying yes to the next challenge.

References:

[1] Racer X
[2] Hagerty
[3] ADV Pulse
[4] ESPN
[5] Car and Driver
[6] Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame
[7] Motorsports Hall of Fame
[8] Additional motorsports coverage