Dominic Doyle caught the racing bug well before he started grade school.
Doyle, a junior at Columbus North, rode his first motorbike at the age of 4 and has been addicted to racing ever since.
Originally from South Africa, Doyle made the move permanently to the United States in August 2018. He has been racing in several series events in South Africa prior to his move to America.
This year, Doyle is racing in the MotoAmerica Series that features 10 races that spans across nine states, including California, Utah, Alabama and New Jersey.
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Competing in the Liqui Moly Junior Cup, Doyle has completed two races so far in the season. He finished third at Michelin Raceway Road in Atlanta and ninth at Virginia International Raceway. He currently sits fifth in the championship points race.
The Liqui Moly Junior Cup is a brand new class in MotoAmerica that began last year that features drivers in between the ages of 14 and 25. Most are from the United States, with a few drivers from El Salvador, Canada and South Africa mixed in.
Doyle has been riding a Kawasaki Ninja 400 for about seven months. He rode it for the final three races of last season, and this is the first year driving it full time.
Doyle said the competition in South Africa and the in the U.S. isn’t much different, but one difference that stood out to him was that there are a lot more drivers in the field for the races in America.
While the majority of Doyle’s races are during the summer, he said that he does have to maintain a balance adding in his school work in the early and later portions of the season. He is thankful North has given him excused absences to continue his passion.
“I just have to get all of my work when I get back and just catch up by myself,” Doyle said.
As long as Doyle has been racing, he’s been fortunate to avoid any significant injury. He has broken his shoulder, but that was riding his bicycle.
To assure a competitive balance in MotoAmerica, drivers that accumulate enough points, enough wins or a combination of both will move up a class for next year. Early in the season so far, Doyle looks to be one of the drivers moving up.
One of the biggest goals for Doyle next year, if an opportunity arises, is to start racing 600 Series, and after that, he hopes it will eventually propel him to the 1000 Series, which is the highest class. He looks to be well on his way of achieving that goal.
“I just want to get the best results that I can,” Doyle said. “I want to get on as many podiums as I can and win as much as I can and gets points throughout the season and see where I end up.”
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Name: Dominic Doyle
High School: Columbus North
Class: Junior
Hometown: Port Elizabeth, South Africa
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