The 2025 FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship (WorldWCR) concluded this past weekend at the Circuito de Jerez-Ángel Nieto in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, with both MotoAmerica riders, Mallory Dobbs and Sonya Lloyd, recording career bests during the event. In addition, both Americans completed perfect seasons in which they competed in all six rounds of the spec-racing series that features female racers aboard identically prepared Yamaha YZF-R7 motorcycles.
The high points came early at Jerez for both riders, instilling them with confidence during the first day of their weekend in Spain. Dobbs rode her Diva Racing Yamaha to 13th-fastest in Free Practice, while Lloyd was 21st-quickest in the session aboard her Trasimeno Racing Yamaha.
After some time for their individual teams and them to fine-tune their bike setups for Superpole, Dobbs qualified inside the top-10 for the first time in the series as her lap time of 1:53.184 put her in ninth place and on the third row of the starting grid for Saturday’s Race 1. Lloyd also achieved her best qualifying result, with her fastest lap time of 1:55.439 landing her 17th on the grid and in row six for Race 1.
With sunny skies and warm temperatures prevailing, 25 riders gridded up for Saturday’s nine-lap Race 1.
Dobbs quickly moved up to eighth positon off the start, and then, heavy traffic moved her back to 10th on lap three, then 11th on lap five. She moved up to 10th on lap six, then back down to 11th on lap seven. On the penultimate lap, she lost another position, but she was able to maintain 12th place to the finish line.
Lloyd made a good start in Race 1, but she unfortunately got pushed wide at turn two and dropped to 19th, then 20th, during the first four laps. She put her head down and ran a top-15 pace as the laps wound down, which put her P18 at the checkered flag.
Sunday’s Race 2 was the final one of the 2025 season for the WorldWCR competitors, and Dobbs was determined to replicate her Superpole performance with a top-10 race result, while Lloyd was aiming for a finish inside the top 15.
Gusty winds, which changed direction frequently during the race, wreaked havoc for the American riders. Dobbs suffered the worst of it when she had a tipover on lap nine of the 11-lap race, which took her out of 12 place.
Lloyd didn’t quite reach her goal of a top-15 result to end the season, and she had to settle for a finish inside the top 20 as she took the checkered flag in 19th.
Mallory Dobbs
“This round was not our best in results, but it was our best in pace. We were the closest to the front that we’ve been all season. In Race 1, we only finished 12 seconds behind the leader, and in Race 2, we kind of got tripped up by another battle, which cost me the opportunity to be up with the group ahead of me. Then, unfortinately, I had a crash in Race 2. I was on, probably, my fastest lap of the weekend, but there were big wind gusts, and I think that contributed to my crash. I’m OK, but it’s disappointing to end the season on a sour note.
“We had the pace this weekend, and that felt really good. This season was tough. The competition is really strong. On paper, our results weren’t as good as last year, but we definitely had a more consistent year. I still had to learn some new tracks, but I crashed a lot less this year. Also, we know what we need to improve on for next year.
“I’m already working on the logistics for the 2026 season, and I’m hoping to stay in Europe to do more training because I’ve been missing out on seat time and being able to go testing. Next year, all the tracks will be ones we’ve already been to, so that will make things a lot easier.
“All in all, I’m happy to end the season having learned a lot, and I developed my riding a lot more. Next season, we are aiming for more results in the top 10, and maybe even the top five. I’m looking forward to it.”
Sonya Lloyd
“This season was truly 10 years of experience squeezed into just six events. We traveled to six countries and learned five new tracks all while figuring out this new riding style, Pirelli tires, and the stock R7 motorcycle, and while competing against the best in the world.
“It’s hard to put this season into words. In just my third year of road racing, I have gone from BTR, to Twins Cup, to the World Championship. While I had hoped to be consistently in the top 15, we seemed to have to learn some hard lessons each time over the pond that kept us from reaching that goal.
“Despite it all, I know how much I have grown as a rider now coming back to tracks that I raced my Giaccmoto Yamaha Racing R7 at last year in MotoAmerica, and I am now a whole three seconds faster on my stock R7 with 30 less horsepower and stock suspension.
“At the final round of the year in Jerez, Spain, I felt the most confident on the bike despite starting 17th on the grid Saturday and 16th on Sunday. My gap behind the leader of the race was the closest yet this year. Now, it’s time to do some flat track and mini moto training this off-season to work on aggressive racecraft, so I can really compete and move through the mid-pack of this Championship.
“I hope to have another year to grow in WorldWCR, and I am working on building my program now. My aspirations are lofty, and I’m happy we are still making big steps forward.”
