Women Making a Mark in Motorsports

By Delaney Brogan
Marketing Coordinator – RV
Yamaha Motor Canada

I grew up on bikes. My first race was the Terra Nova Enduro at 5 days old, bundled up in the middle of the forest as my mom ran her check for the event. I also spent lots of time as a passenger on my dad’s bike but quickly found out I much preferred the front once I took the handlebars myself around 6 years old. My dad started me in cross-country racing just a few weeks after and I caught the bug right away. All of my natural competitive, thrill-seeking tendencies fulfilled in one sport – what more could a young girl ask for?

Through the years, my dad and brother were my riding buddies and I never really thought too much about who I was watching on the track or on the TV. Now that I have worked, volunteered, and participated in the sport for almost two decades, I realize females are very underrepresented in the motorsports industry. But this IS changing.

There are more opportunities for women to learn to ride or improve their skills alongside other women, as well as some truly skilled female racers to look to for inspiration. A couple of the highest-ranking Canadian women on road bikes, inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2011, are Kathleen Coburn and Toni Sharpless. Among their many notable accomplishments on two wheels, Kathleen was the first woman to win a race series final and Toni was the first woman to win a Canadian Motorcycle Association Championship.

Still very much involved in motorsports, these two women have certainly left their mark. I think Kathleen said it best, noting “I didn’t want to be a girl doing well for a girl; I wanted to win.”

How Did They Get Started?

If you’ve been around the industry, you will have heard the Sharpless name so racing was in Toni’s blood. Motorcycles were her father’s passion, both as a preferred mode of transportation and as a sport.

“My father, Bill, excelled as a racer and organizer in many forms of motorcycle events, including trials, road racing, enduros and scrambles,” Toni explained. “He opened a motorcycle dealership called Sonic Motorcycles in Scarborough, Ontario, when I was six years old. Soon after, my brothers, Blair and Todd, and I found minibikes under the Christmas tree to learn sharing… or so my mom was told!”

Like their father, Toni and her brothers developed a passion for motorcycles and competition.

“My first competition was when I was 9 years old,” she reminisced. “We used studded tires on our dirt bikes to race ovals plowed on a frozen lake. I remember instantly enjoying the speed and the feeling of freedom when I raced a motorcycle.”

This has kept Toni in motorsports over all these years, along with the challenges it presented along the way. “There’s nothing more gratifying than overcoming a challenge and finding more speed!”

Kathleen was introduced to motorsports a little differently.

“I went with friends to Mosport (now Canadian Tire Motorsport Park) to watch a motorcycle race,” she explained. “This was my first ever motorcycle experience and it was life-changing! Something snapped in me and I had to try it.”

Secrets of Success

Both women have put their blood, sweat and tears into their racing careers, and have stayed successful on two wheels for a long time.

Kathleen believes an open mind, a willingness to listen and learn from others, and a commitment to push through challenging circumstances are all keys to success in motorsports – and, of course, passion.

“I love motorcycles and am willing to embrace all opportunities to race, ride, learn and most importantly play,” she added.

For Toni, the definition of a great athlete is someone who puts the work in, both mentally and physically, to prepare for competition.

“This is what we teach at the Super Sonic Road Race School,” she explained. “An athlete also needs to appreciate and respect those who help them achieve their goals, compete in a sportsmanlike manner – congratulate competitors whether they personally win, lose or draw – use failure to grow, and give back to the sport in some form.”

Toni adds she still strives to live up to her own definition of an athlete to this day.

All riders know there are inevitably some uphill’s along the way. For Toni and Kathleen, there was no lack of challenging moments.

Over the years, Toni has used her mind and determination – and, of course, some hard work – to overcome and learn from broken bones and bikes, as well as lofty goals she set for herself. Now, though, Toni admits she’s facing her greatest challenge yet.

“Competing in my early 60s presents some physical challenges that science won’t allow me to overcome, so I find myself listening to the constant struggle between the competitor in me that sets the goals to attain and the wisdom of age that tempers those goals,” she explained.

Kathleen agrees that age has proven quite a hurdle as she looks to mark her 60th birthday this year.

“It takes an army to keep an old body fit.... hockey, landscaping, horses, any sport!” she said. “I currently hold the lap record at Shannonville for my class and it would be a huge personal achievement to hold this record until I’m 60!”

Kathleen also noted that riders who want to commit to a full series need a big budget to be competitive, and this can be a challenge.

Where Are They Now?

Both women have been personal role models for me and many other women in the sport. Toni & Kathleen not only helped start Dee’s Day in the Dirt, one of the first ladies-only ride days in Ontario, but they also made it more than I could have ever imagined. Toni has always volunteered in the sport and is currently running her own road racing school, Super Sonic Road Race School®. In addition, Toni helps her brother, Blair, at the Corduroy Enduro every year and heads out for rides with her husband, Jamie Pikor. She is also a proud supporter of her two nieces, who are following in her footsteps in the world of cross-country racing.

Kathleen spent many years supporting her husband Johnathan Head (a former ISDE participant) and two talented daughters, who participate in cross-country races all over Ontario – while also racing in them herself! In fact, I had the opportunity to see these three ladies lined up next to each other. You want to see racing? Put Kathleen and her daughters on the line next to each other! She is still competing in vintage road races and trail riding with family and friends for fun. But her real talent is in ping pong as has yet to lose a game.

I have been lucky enough to work closely with both outstanding athletes and what always stood out for me was the fact they didn’t even notice that it was a class full of boys, they just went out and raced. I think this is the most important lesson I’ve ever learned in riding my dirt bike. It doesn’t matter who you’re with or how many people are out on the trails or the track, whether you’re racing or just heading out on the trail for fun, just go, do your best and enjoy the ride! You don’t have to be the fastest and it is 100% okay to be the slowest.