Team Oscar Racing has set its sights on even more success in TT 2013, after a dream outing in 2012. With a new road race passenger, Karl Schofield, and a re-vamped ‘Oscar’, they’re hungry for more success.
What do you do when you’ve achieved your wildest dream? Why, you go out and find another one of course! 2012 was an incredible year for Team Oscar Racing. Not only did they qualify and race in the world famous Isle of Man TT races, with their lime green sidecar outfit, Debbie also won the Susan Jenness Trophy for TT 2012 to top it off. Completing the race in TT 2012 took Debbie Barron straight into the record books as the first ever Manx born woman to drive a sidecar in the TT.
The dizzy heights of the TT races in 2012 were only the beginning and were crowned with successful outings at several other meetings, including 13th place in the Southern 100 Road Race. Debbie was overwhelmed with her nomination as Sportswoman of the Year, but it was the Best Newcomer Sidecar Team in 2012 Isle of Man TT award, voted for by the TT Marshals, which was closest to her heart. As Terry Holmes, Chairman of the TT Marshals Association presented the award at the Southern 100 in July, a tearful Debbie explained why this particular award meant so much to her. “Team Oscar Racing is all about the people who support us and make up the ‘team’. Having been a marshal myself for 22 years, it means such a lot to me to have won this award, voted for by the Marshals around the course during the TT fortnight. I miss being out there with them, but I’d much rather be racing!”
The new road race passenger for 2013 is Karl Schofield from Knaresborough in Yorkshire. He has been a huge fan of motorbikes since he was 17, but in 2004 he got into sidecars in a big way, through friend and previous TT competitor Mark Autton. Karl has now ‘earned his spurs’ with a number of drivers, but most lately with John Chandler and Roger Body. It was whilst competing in the Southern 100 in 2012 with John that Karl first met Team Oscar, and when last year’s passenger Robert Lunt hung up his boots last summer, Karl was ready in the wings to take his place.
Karl commented “the high spot of my racing career so far has been the honour of being passenger to Roger Body in the Goodwood Festival of Speed Hill Climb on the BMW Buildbase sidecar and meeting some very distinguished guests. But I’m sure that my debut at this year’s TT will top even that and I can’t wait to help Debbie achieve her new dreams.”
And just what are those dreams? As always, Debbie dreams big. After all, Team Oscar Racing’s motto is ‘live the dream, whatever your dream may be.’ This year, the dream is to become the first Manx woman to top a 100mph average lap. As Karl says, “with the new Oscar roaring away, I firmly believe that goal is attainable”.
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Photo - Team Oscar Racing at TT 2012. Photo courtesy of Richard Dawson
