Carolynn Sells (born 6 May 1973 in Preston, Lancashire) is an English former

road racer Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on publ ...

. She grew up around motorcycle racing, a sport her father Dave Sells took up when she was five years old. He began racing in the

Manx Grand Prix The Manx Grand Prix motorcycle races are held on the Isle of Man TT Course (or ' Mountain Circuit') every year for a two-week period, usually spanning the end of August and early September. New for 2022 is a period reduction from 14 to 9 days ...

when she was 12. She has stated that her sole purpose, when she began short circuit racing herself at the age of 27, was to obtain a National Race licence so she could race on the

Isle of Man TT Mountain Course The Isle of Man TT Mountain Course or ''TT Course'' is a street and public rural road circuit located in the Isle of Man, used for motorcycle racing. The motorcycle ''TT Course'' is used principally for the Isle of Man TT Races and also the sep ...

. The highlight of her racing career was winning the 2009 Ultralightweight Manx Grand Prix, making her the first and as of 2022, the only woman to win a solo race on the

, an achievement that earned her a Guinness World Record, and made her the Isle of Man Sportswoman of the Year 2009.

Racing

Sells raced numerous times on the roads of the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = " O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europ ...

, including 13 Manx Grand Prix starts between 2003 and 2009. She also raced on the roads mostly in Ireland (between 2004 & 2008). However, she started her racing career by participating in short circuit club racing, mostly in mainland Britain (between 2000 & 2009); her first race was at Jurby Airfield on the Isle of Man on her father's TZ250 race bike.

Awards

Short Circuits: *Andreas Racing Association (Isle of Man) Champion of Champions

00cc class CC, cc, or C-C may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * C.C. (''Code Geass''), a character in the ''Code Geass'' anime series, pronounced "C-two" * C.C. Babcock, a character in the American sitcom ''The Nanny'' * Come ...

2002

: Southern 100: *First woman to have an overall win of a solo race at this event, during the 50th Anniversary meeting in 2005.

References

1973 births English motorcycle racers British motorcycle racers Living people Manx Grand Prix racers Female motorcycle racers {{England-motorcycle-racing-bio-stub