Pioneer, rider

Boston-born Bovaird was a pioneer at the highest international motorcycle racing levels. She grabbed headlines by winning Expert-level WERA Motorcycle Roadracing events on her Honda MT125R and Yamaha TZ250. In 1979, she posted the highest trap speed (141.6 mph) at the AMA Novice race at Daytona. A year later, she became the first woman to qualify for the DAYTONA 200 on a Yamaha TZ500, which she and her husband had taken a second mortgage to purchase. She’d never ridden the bike before Speed Week, but still qualified 42^nd in the 80-bike field. The AMA ranked her the top female US road racer both years. In 1981, she was back at Daytona and became the first woman to finish the 200, placing 25^th after mechanical issues toward the end of the race. Later that year, she finished 10^th at the German Grand Prix. She made history again the following year when she became the first female to compete in the Moto GP 500cc class of the FIM World Motorcycle Championship.