A Woman Addicted To Speed Is My Kinda Woman

Why This Barrier-Breaking Woman Was Banned From The World’s Deadliest Race

Swain entered the Ultra Lightweight class with a 50cc Itom, an Italian motorcycle too obscure to be resurrected. This time it was her husband setting up her bike. She wore a bright patterned sweater over her leathers. Out of 25 entrants in her class, she placed 22nd. 

And she loved it. She announced that she would be back next year to compete again. 

But the International Federation of Motorcycling revoked her international racing license. Their excuse: the death of a female rider around the deadly Isle of Man TT circuit would make for bad press. “Having a male racer injured or killed on the TT course was one thing,” said Matthew Richardson, curator of social history for the Manx National Heritage. “But the organizers were just not prepared to take the risk of that happening to a woman.”

Swain was able to rally support from fellow racers, from her fans, and even the Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man, to no avail. More people wanted her gone than to come back next year. She went home and hung up her leathers for good. 

A woman rider would not race at the Isle of Man TT again until 1978, when Hilary Musson started her career with Yamaha, often competing against her husband, John. (Her daughter Gail is the only woman to ever average 100mph on a 125cc motorcycle around the course.) In 2009, Jenny Tinmouth broke the lap record in her first-ever entry at the TT. The next year, she came back and broke it again. That same year, Carolynn Sells became the first woman to win a class around the circuit, winning the ultra-lightweight class—the same class in which Swain rode. 

After Swain stopped riding she went to work for the British grocery chain Sainsbury’s, managing multiple locations in and around London. She retired quietly to Essex, volunteered for various women’s charities, and died of complications from Alzheimer’s in 2007. In 2009, the Manx Museum unveiled an exhibit called “Fast Women,” which placed Swain back in the spotlight. 

“People ask me what I enjoy about racing,” she said, “and I usually tell them—speed.”

(Jalopnik.com)