Racing granny Debbie Chapman

Safety comes first, followed by Italian cars and good fun, for Cantabrian grandmother Debbie Chapman.

She explains why to Metropol.

Debbie Chapman is getting ready for the racetrack. Soon she’ll be unrecognisable. Fireproof socks, a three layered fire suit, balaclava, gloves, helmet, and head restraint, followed by a five point harness. And under all that, fireproof underwear.

Safety is not something to be taken lightly even by such an experienced driver. Details matter. Debbie’s been watching her carb intake over the past 24 hours (too many can make you sleepy out on the track). She drinks plenty of water as dehydration can lead to poor decision-making. And staying fit with a personal trainer twice a week is an absolute must because Debbie’s Fiat doesn’t have power steering.

This grandma with a need for speed can chart her life through the cars she has owned.

“The first car I ever drove was a Vanguard, borrowed from my father. I repaid him by writing it off!

“I was about 20, and on a date with my future husband when a car came round the corner sideways and went straight into me. The steering wheel came up a foot and broke my cheek bone. It turned out the guy was young and out of control in his dad’s new car,” she recalls.

By the early 1990s Debbie had married her date, Dennis Chapman, and the couple had four children together. “Dennis really wanted to go motor racing and he thought if he got me interested, he’d be able to go more often.” At the time Debbie decided she quite liked a bit of speed, so she and Dennis joined the racing fraternity.

“I started out in an Alfa Romeo 164, then jumped to a Ferrari Testarossa. We sort of went backwards because we now race Fiats. It really is good fun,” she says.

The couple belong to several clubs, with racing women still very much a minority. “We’re spread over different types of racing – rallying, classic and endurance – but there aren’t many of us and they tend to be a bit younger.” Debbie pauses. “Hold on. Maybe I’m the oldest one I know!”

Off the race track Debbie and Dennis are known for their generosity of spirit along with a purpose-built solar panelled castle in Tai Tapu, Christchurch. What many don’t know is that the Chapmans are passionate advocates, supporters, and trustees of the Proactive Drive Charitable Trust.

Started by motorsport driver John Osbourne (‘Ozzo’) in 1994, the Proactive Drive Charitable Trust programme initially focused on teaching teenagers how to prevent accidents. This very much fitted with the Chapmans’ attitude towards safety.

“Ozzo came up to us at the racetrack one day, told us he’d had a really bad accident some years back, and that he’d spent a lot of time in hospital. While there he’d chatted to a lot of young people who were coming in with similar injuries. He realised there was a lot of education missing about how to stay safe on the road.”

From there he started taking his message to schools. Ozzo’s straight forward safety messages still resonate with Debbie. Messages such as “if you look at the lamp post, you will hit it. Instead, look where you want to go and find a safe pathway”, and “what’s the most important part of your motor vehicle? Come on, what is it? The tyres! If you haven’t got any tread you can’t go faster, you can’t stop, you can’t turn”.

Little gems like that were, and still are, invaluable, says Debbie. In those days she helped out wherever she could, from typing reports and carrying out administrative tasks, through to placing cones on driving courses and instructing teenagers during weekends.

Occasionally they’d receive letters thanking them when young people survived accidents because of their lessons, and the skills they taught.

When Ozzo died in 2015, Debbie and Dennis stepped in with practical and financial help to ensure his legacy continued.

Debbie is still just as passionate about the skills of safe driving. “We have to change this attitude in New Zealand that we should learn all our driving skills from mum and dad. So many bad behaviours are picked up from parents. After all, we’re all fantastic drivers aren’t we?” she says ruefully. “Plus, as a rule, young people don’t listen to what their parents say, whereas they will listen to someone else.

“Parents need to understand that their children really benefit from one or two professional driving lessons. Everyone’s okay when things go right, but students need to understand how to drive safely and prevent things going wrong. Learning how to drive properly and safely is such a necessary life skill.
“Eighty percent of the people we help through the Proactive Drive Charitable Trust can’t afford professional driving lessons. And we don’t receive any direct government funding.

We’d love for the wider community to think about paying it forward because at the end of the day it keeps all of us safer and could even save lives,” says Debbie.

“I really encourage people to have a think about how they can help – maybe it’s as simple as giving someone the gift of driving lessons, becoming a regular giver to the organisation or like Dennis and I, becoming a Proactive Drive Charitable Trust partner. It’s a great way to give back and good fun.

“We’ll never know the exact impact of teaching people to become better, safer drivers. But we do know we’re still needed, so that’s why we continue to do what we do. We’re helping at the top of the cliff, not the bottom, and we’re proud of that,” she adds.

When Debbie and Dennis aren’t involved with the governance of Proactive Drive Charitable Trust, or helping New Zealanders to be safer on the roads, they’re overseeing the building of a bach in the Marlborough Sounds, spending time with family and grandchildren, and, safety first, speeding round a race course.

To find out how you can support your community go to www.proactivedrive.org.nz or email the trust at support@proactivedrive.org.nz