DETERMINED to leave her mark on the Isle of Man TT festival, sidecar racer Ruth Laidlow is already making plans for 2006 with the smell of engine oil and brake dust from this year's event still fresh in her senses.

The Darlington mother-of-one finished a creditable 38th in the first race of two at the arduous event earlier this month, bettering her finish of 49th in her debut on the Island in 2004.

She was odds on to post an even better finish in the second race, only to suffer a gearbox failure with one lap to go.

Frustrated by this Laidlow, partnered by Ian Simons who replaced regular passenger Helen Sutherland, is getting down to business in readiness for her return in 12 months.

"I definitely want to go back and I definitely want to go a lot faster again, " said Laidlow. "Preparation for next year will be more intense and I will try and get new equipment.

"We are going to Schleiz in Germany, another road race, in two weeks. While it's not exactly like the TT it is on roads so it will be good for experience.

"I watch the video (from the TT) all the time and I am going to try to get back over their this year and drive around in a car just to keep it all fresh in my mind."

Laidlow, who returned from an horrific accident to get behind the handlebars, saw a vast improvement in performance from the off this year.

"We managed to start where we finished last year, timewise, and we progressed from there, " said Laidlow, who rides a 600cc Baker. "We qualified by Tuesday night which was good. But the first race was a bit horrible because it was wet. It rained on the last lap and so I had to cruise round.

"I was happy with my times in Race B, because we averaged 95mph on our first lap and our second lap was a lot better. Unfortunately, we broke down when our gearbox blew up."

The damage proved terminal and Laidlow retired to the pub for a wellearned rest.

As a woman, Laidlow is in the minority at the TT, but she believes she is closing the gap over her male counterparts, who have the advantage over her both in terms of experience and equipment, albeit slowly.

"She is an old girl, " she says of her machine. "A lot of the top lads have gone fuel injection and we are still running carburetors.

"It's knowledge as well. This is only my second year there and a lot of the lads you are up against have been there ten or 15 years so I still have a way to go.

"But they are all really good and help me as much as they can. They will do anything to assist you."

Blob Laidlow's sidecar adventures would not be possible without the assistance of a number of benefactors including Charminster Developments Ltd, National Window Systems Ltd, Hien Gericke Darlington, Signs Express Darlington, Keith at Croft Club and the Croft Hotel.

"Every last penny helps, " she said.

Published: 25/06/2005