The history of motorcycling is sprinkled with the stories of strong, determined women who bucked the odds to carve out a place for themselves.
The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame preserves the stories of such pioneers, including Pearl Hoel, Hazel Kolb, Dot Robinson, Bessie Stringfield, Adeline and Augusta Van Buren and Margaret Wilson. All were female motorcycling ambassadors for many decades. All of them broke down barriers.
Other inductees into the Hall of Fame, such as Becky Brown, Sharon Clayton, Mona Ehnes, Debbie Evans, Sue Fish, Linda Giovannoni, Rita Gregory, Phyllis
McClure and Cris Sommer-Simmons are dedicated to making motorcycling a mainstream activity for more and more women.
Today, many women are a part of the motorcycle lifestyle and can be found at all levels of motorcycling, from a backwoods trail to an interstate highway, from the local motocross track to the executive board room.
Here are three of their stories.
PATRICIA JACQUES
Vehicle Of Empowerment
Patricia Jacques views her motorcycle as a vehicle of empowerment. Riding helped her gain confidence in herself, and encouraged her to teach other women to believe in themselves, as well.
Jacques was first exposed to motorcycles while watching a round of the FIM MXGP series in Germany, where she was living on an Army base with her family. Just 4 years old, she instantly fell in love with the speed and intensity of motorcycle racing, watching the professional racers effortlessly maneuver the track.
Seven years later, motorcycles were still on Jacques’ mind when her dad asked her what she wanted as a reward for making the honor society at school.
After begging for a motorcycle for weeks, Jacques finally got a Honda minibike to ride around the backyard. The only stipulation was that she had to share the bike with her brother.
“I rode that thing until it pretty much wouldn’t go anymore,” Jacques said. “From the minute I got home from school until it was dark outside and my parents were begging me to come inside, I was riding. I rode that little thing all around the neighborhood and showed off to all the other kids. Even at a very young age, I loved going fast and being the best.”
Jacques’ younger brother began competing in local motocross events, but, while she was always at the track with her family to watch, she wasn’t allowed to compete herself.
After more months of begging, she finally convinced her dad to let her ride practice.
“I know he didn’t take me seriously before that,” Jacques said. “I know it was practice, but I pretty much went out and lapped the whole field. And, since I had to be a registered racer to ride practice, I talked my dad into letting me actually race that same day. Let’s just say he knew it wasn’t a joke after that.”
From that race forward, motocross racing consumed her life. She said her competitive edge pushed her to want to win races and be the best. Her results
Cathy Larson, Grizgirl Photography
showed that. She was beating the boys and finishing up front at events, such as the AMA Winter Nationals in Florida.
“I could hear people say, ‘Oh! That’s a girl!’ when I’d come around the track,” Jacques said. “I was just about the only girl racing motocross on the East Coast that was getting the results I was, so most of these guys had never seen a girl ride, let alone beat them.”
Although Jacques was turning out impressive results, she found herself battling mental road blocks and lacking confidence. She realized the pressure she was putting on herself to win was both mentally and physically unhealthy.
“I felt like I had to beat the boys to prove myself,” Jacques said.
Jacques said she now realizes the pressure she put on herself to win took away the comfort she found in riding.
“I changed my perception,” she said. “Instead of trying to be the best at something, I began simply doing the best I could on any given day. I didn’t have to win anymore to feel good about myself.”
After that revelation, Jacques decided to help empower other women through motorcycling.
She now owns and operates ADV Woman, a riding school devoted to instilling confidence in women by teaching them to ride off-road.
Jacques also organizes an annual adventure ride for women through Back Country Discovery Routes and encourages riders of all skill levels to take part in the ride.
In her spare time, Jacques advocates on behalf of female riders. She said raising awareness is the key to expanding the industry and convincing more woman to ride.
“Women are at a pivotal point in history,” Jacques said. “What’s important to remember—and what a lot of women can learn from riding a motorcycle—is that we, as women, are worth far more than what we think of ourselves. We do not need to ask for permission. We do not need to apologize. And we need to do more of what makes us happy, which for a lot of us is riding or racing motorcycles!”
The Next Generation
At just 10 years old, Kayla Yaakov is already showing everyone that a girl should never be doubted.
Yaakov started riding at 3 when her dad, David Yaakov, bought her a dirt bike to ride at their house. She had seen pictures of bikes, and although she barely knew how to walk or talk, she had made it very apparent from an early age that she wanted to race motorcycles.
Her father, a former racer himself, didn’t take his daughter very seriously when she first told him that she wanted to race. She was so young. But the minute he saw the talent she had, he didn’t hesitate.
“At first, yeah, she was good,” he said. “But by the end of that first season, she was winning. That’s a pretty fast advancement for any racer, especially someone her age.”
Seven years later, Yaakov is beating competitors who are three or four times her age. She said the adrenaline and speed are her favorite parts of competition.
“I got my first championship when I was 5, and it felt really good,” Yaakov said. “I love winning and beating other people. It doesn’t matter if it’s boys or girls— that’s my motivation.”
In 2017, Yaakov was recognized as the 2016 AMA Youth Road Racer of the Year for her impressive efforts on the track, winning multiple classes.
She currently races Honda 250 GP style
bikes. These are full-size bikes, so Yaakov sometimes struggles with her weight and height while riding. But he said she doesn’t let that stop her.
One of her most prominent abilities is being able to adapt, overcome obstacles and win.
“Our pit always has people in it coming over to talk to Kayla and about her racing,” David said. “They can never believe her size and how fast she is.
Sometimes, I forget how fast and talented she really is. It’s a nice reminder when I see the lap times and know she’s out there doing what she loves.”
Both Yaakov and her father are confident her future will involve motorcycles. She hopes she can inspire other girls her age to start racing or riding motorcycles, “because there is nothing to be scared of.”
“I want to be World Superbike champion or MotoGP champion,” Yaakov said. “I think all girls and everyone should race motorcycles. If they try it then they will love it.”
Hartman Benzon
DR. LAURA ELLIS
A Minority Within A Minority
When she was younger, Dr. Laura Ellis never would have guessed that she would be riding a motorcycle or owning her own road racing team.
“I was a science nerd,” Ellis said. “I love biology and chemistry, and that’s eventually what led me down the path to working in the private sector of the [U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and then, eventually, to medical school to be a surgeon.”
Aside from her academic and professional background, Ellis had an interest in high-adrenaline and extreme sports and enjoyed rock climbing and mountain biking.
When she was in her early 30s, Ellis got involved with motorcycles after some of her friends who raced cars sparked her interest in motorsports. She eventually decided to hop on a motorcycle herself and began riding recreationally on the street before participating in some road racing schools and local club races.
The competition interested her, because she’s always had a drive to win and be good at whatever she is doing. She said that same interest is what made her want to be a doctor.
“Women are a minority in both medicine and motorcycles,” Ellis said. “As a woman, I do not want to be seen as helpless. I want to be respected and show others why they should respect me. This meant knowing my worth and then showing my work ethic and ability to others.”
After graduating from medical school, Ellis found herself operating on professional athletes. Her interests in sports and medicine began to merge.
As a result, she decided to officially combine her passions for motorcycles and racing with science and medicine by working as a sports physician for a racing team in the MotoAmerica series.
“I had been introduced to the series and was incredibly impressed with the talent of the racers,” Ellis said. “I became very intrigued and began thinking of ways I could use my knowledge and experience to help these athletes reach peak physical performance and help them become even faster.”
Ellis began running tests and focusing on aspects of health and fitness that few trainers or physicians in the racing series had considered. She conducted brainwave testing, monitored energy levels and mental and emotional readiness. She did extensive research on concussions and the effects concussions can have on a racer’s mental ability.
“It was intimidating at first, because it fueled a lot of adversity,” Ellis said. “But I came in wanting to learn and help—not with my hands on my hips like I knew everything. Eventually, I became accustomed to [the industry] and showed people that we should direct our attention to the mental wellbeing of these athletes, if we want them to advance.”
Today, Ellis remains one of the few female MotoAmerica team owners, while still keeping her primary focus on the racers and their fitness.
Ellis hopes to raise knowledge within the sport and sports medicine practices. She believes road racing can be raised to the same level as other professional sports by emphasizing the riders and their mental abilities at the top of their game.
“I don’t really think making a difference has anything to do with gender,” Ellis said. “It is more important to prove to others your worth through your work ethic.”
Matthew Franklin Carter
Ride On With Member Exclusive Savings
OF RACETRACKS AND ROCK ‘N’ ROLL A Trip
To The Ulster GP
By Rory Anson
Led Zeppelin has always been my favorite rock band. And, like a lot of kids growing up in the 1970s and ‘80s, I spent the bulk of my teen years attached to a cheap Radio Shack all-in-one stereo via those foam and plastic headphones with the coiled cord.
I’d pore over every detail of every Zep album (except Coda, because that one didn’t count). When I discovered that the otherworldly, hexagonal rock formation on the cover of the “Houses of the Holy” album was a real place in Ireland, I knew that I’d go there someday. Almost 40 years later, that someday came.
But it wasn’t a Zeppelin-inspired pilgrimage to the Giant’s Causeway that brought me and my 14-year-old son, Finn, to Northern Ireland. It was the Ulster Grand Prix, a 7.4-mile course that’s been held on the country roads at Dundrod, just outside of Belfast, since 1922.
The Ulster GP is one in a series of road races held every year between April and September that includes the Cookstown
100, the North West 200, Kells and Armoy.
Initially, I’d considered going to the Isle of Man TT, a hugely popular motorcycling bucket list destination. And, while the thought of spending several days on an island in the Irish Sea -- drinking beer with a bunch of like-minded motorcycle enthusiasts watching world-class riders whiz by at death-defying speeds -sounded like a great time, it wasn’t what this was about.
This was a father-son trip, the race being just one of many things we’d experience during our two weeks in Ireland. It was an attempt to create some memories with Finn before he started high school and went headlong into his own adolescent vortex.
The UGP seemed like the perfect opportunity for us to experience our first Irish road race, family-style.
Since we’d be in the neighborhood, we could also check out the Giant’s Causeway, visit with relatives in Belfast,
and—who knows—maybe someone might have his first pint.
We arrived at Dundrod for Saturday’s races shortly before the roads closed and found our way to the hospitality tent. I’d figured that, since we were traveling all the way from Oregon, we might as well do it in style, so I sprung for the VIP package. Breakfast and lunch were provided, along with two fully stocked bars and a great view of the track, as well as a jumbo screen to watch the action unfold.
Between races there were interviews with current and veteran riders, music and plenty of comic relief, courtesy of the emcee. I can’t recall her name, but she was hilarious. As they say in Ireland, it was great craic.
The first race of the day was delayed for about an hour to allow a few remaining wet patches time to dry. Once conditions were favorable, all the competitors took a
Finn and Rory Anson
Spectators at “Hole in the Wall”
lap in honor of retiring road racing medic Dr. Fred McSorley.
Then, it was time.
Motorcycles assembled on the grid, engines revving, the crowd pumped. It was electric.
Billed as “The World’s Fastest Road Race,” the Ulster GP features riders routinely hitting speeds approaching 200 mph, as they come screaming through the Flying Kilo into the first corner at Leathemstown.
Catching air over Deer’s Leap, their rear wheels once again make that scary, wobbly contact with the road, just like we’ve all seen on YouTube.
Narrowly missing the stone walls, signposts and hedges along the way, their dragging knees rustle the grass through Wheeler’s Corner, and then they slow into Lindsay Hairpin before throttling past spectators eagerly awaiting their blurred arrival in the Joey Dunlop Grandstands.
Before the racing started, we happened to strike up a conversation with a man who turned out to be a longtime sponsor of the event. He invited us to join his group to watch the Superbike race from Deer’s Leap.
With precious little time between races, a dozen of us scrambled through the paddock, piled into a little Transit van and bounced our way up a narrow lane, before jumping from the van. We ran like hell across the track with about five seconds to spare before they closed the road. “C’mon Yanks, run!” was all I remembered hearing.
The vantage point at Deer’s Leap is essentially a gravel drive between a couple of houses, along what any other day would be a quiet country byway.
First, you hear what sounds like the faint hum of a swarm of yellow jackets.
The volume slowly increases as you catch sight of them, at speeds now north of 160 mph and climbing.
Finn and I were not much more than arm’s length away as we watched Bruce Anstey, Peter Hickman, Dean Harrison and Michael Dunlop fly by in a flash, leaving only a breeze in their wake. I’ll never forget the look on Finn’s face after that first wave of bikes came roaring through. That’s the experience I was after!
All in all, it was a spectacular day of racing. Peter Hickman scored a hat trick, winning the Superstock and both Supersport races. Veteran Anstey took the top spot in the first of two Superbike races, after an epic back-and-forth with Hicky, who took second.
Thanks to our new friends, we were able to take in the second Supersport race from “Hole in the Wall” at Wheeler’s Corner, watching a thrilling Supertwin battle from the podium.
Clerk of the Course, Noel Johnston, and his crew put on a sensational day of
racing, and we couldn’t have asked for a better time.
The friendly and relaxed atmosphere at the UGP was amazing. The paddock is open to fans, and the riders are very accessible. We were able to meet and take photos with many of our favorite racers.
The cherry on top was meeting “The Flying Kiwi,” Bruce Anstey, who gave Finn an autographed knee slider. What an awesome guy. I’ll bet Bruce likes Led Zeppelin. Next year I’ll ask him.
THE
ROAD
TO LORETTA’S
The famed Road to Loretta’s kicks off in February with racers competing to qualify for the 2018 Rocky Mountain ATV/ MC AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship, presented by Lucas Oil, on July 30-Aug. 4 at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tenn.
spanning 35 states. Racers of all ages can compete in various engine displacement classes, from 50cc to 450cc, in hopes of moving on to a Regional Championship.
Dates Announced For Motocross Qualifiers, Regional Championships
Competing in AMA Area Qualifiers is the first step along the road to Loretta’s. The 58 area qualifiers begin in February and run through the end of May,
AMA Regional Championships provide the next step in seeding riders into the annual championship. Only riders who finish in a qualifying position at one of the 13 regional championship events are eligible to race in the national championship event at Loretta Lynn’s.
This year’s lineup includes many historic tracks, such as Unadilla MX and High Point Raceway in the Northeast. Racing also returns to other favorites, such as the Southeast’s Muddy Creek Raceway, RedBud MX in the Mid-East and Thunder Valley MX Park in the South-Central region.
For the full schedule of AMA Area Qualifiers and AMA Regional Championships, check the calendar starting on page 38.
AND THE AMA NATIONAL NO. 1 PLATE GOES TO … THE SNOW?
AMA Snow Bike Series To Award AMA National Championships
For The First Time
Snow bike racing has quickly become a popular discipline in motorcycle competition, gaining the attention of many well-known amateur and professional motorcycle racers, and getting its own event at the X-Games.
In 2017, the AMA sanctioned its first-ever snow bike series, with the help of R & R Productions, and experienced great success throughout the seven-round series.
As a result, in 2018 the AMA Snow Bike Series will be recognized as an AMA National Championship series and will award an AMA National No. 1 plate to the top finisher of each national class at the conclusion of the series.
Snow bikes swap out wheels and knobby tires for a front ski for steering,
and a high-performance snowmobilestyle track in the rear for traction. Riders compete on a motocross-inspired halfmile track of jumps, banks, right and left hand turns and whoops.
“We are excited to continue working with R & R Promotions to provide an AMA National Championship series for snow bike racers in 2018,” AMA Motocross Manager Ricky Rickords said.
“The expansion of snow bike racing during the past year has been very promising, and we look forward to the continued growth and popularity of the sport in the future.”
For the full 2018 AMA Snow Bike National Championship Series schedule, check the calendar starting on page 38.
Jon Atkins
Yve Assad
2018
FIM
ISDE
MOVES TO
NOVEMBER Qualify To Compete On A Club Team
The 2018 FIM International Six Days Enduro, the world’s largest annual off-road motorcycle competition, will now take place on Nov. 12-17 in VIña del Mar, Chile. The event was originally scheduled on Oct. 22-27 at the same location.
place on Nov. 12-17 in VIña
The ISDE began as the International Six Day Trial in 1913 and, ever since, countries have been sending their best off-road racers to exotic locations around the world to be tested on some of the most difficult terrains in hopes of winning the World Trophy. Countries can send a number of teams to the event. The World Trophy Team features four riders that compete for the
some winning
world title, along with the Junior Trophy and Women’s Trophy Teams which each feature three riders.
In addition, each country can send a number club teams. Teams compete for team honors, while individual riders race for gold, silver or bronze medals, which are based on a rider’s finishing time relative to the leader.
The ISDE East and West Qualifier Series is used to determine who will compete on six of the seven three-member national U.S. Club Teams. The top seven riders from both the East and West Qualifier Series, as well as one additional rider selected by the AMA ISDE Advisory Committee, will take the positions.
