Women Spotlight Wednesday: Ava Dobson
- Alejandra Guajardo Lozano
- 12 hours ago
- 2 min read
Written by Alejandra Guajardo Lozano, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
Women have played an influential role throughout the history of motor racing. Many have taken to the wheels of motorsport machines, while numerous figures have worked tirelessly on the sidelines in various roles, shaping the racing world to the present day.
Today, we shine the spotlight on the young and talented Ava Dobson, who has taken part in the all-female F1 Academy championship already, in Miami.
Ava Dobson was born on June 9th, 2008, in Milwaukee. Her racing career started after she was awarded the Parella Motorsports Holdings Powering Diversity Scholarship in 2023. At 15, she joined the Formula 4 United States Championship, driving for Jay Howard Driver Development. She also joined the USF Juniors that same year, finishing 16th in the standings.
2024 was a tough year for Dobson, who was back at USF Juniors for a brand-new season. However, Dobson suffered a high-speed accident, colliding with Bruno Ribeiro at Barber Motorsports Park in round 4. Left with an injured chest, back, and pinkie finger, the American racer was unable to come back for the rest of the season.
But the 16-year-old didn’t let this accident drag her down. After her recovery, she was announced by VRD Racing for the 2024 GB4 Championship. Her comeback to motorsports was successful as she finished the race ninth.
Dobson’s experience and determination to continue racing brought her the opportunity of being the Wild Card for round 3 of F1 Academy in Miami. Supported by Morgan Stanley, the Milwaukee native was more than ready to debut in the elite all-female series with Hitech TGR. She managed to finish 13th in race one, that being her only result, with race two was cancelled due to heavy rain.
Ava Dobson is a promising young talent. She has a lot of experience, even at a young age and has shown amazing resilience that allowed her to keep racing after an accident like that. Her passion and love for the sport is certainly inspiring many young girls just like her, with many set to look at her comeback story as a source of inspiration.
