Racing a Bob Jackson Suzuki T20 two-stroke for the first time around the TT course, Maria set off from number 64 on the road and despite encountering traffic as early as on as Quarterbridge she was lying in fourth place, only 3 seconds back on third place.

Bob Jackson’s strategy to pit for fuel on lap three saw Maria move in to first place with a lead of almost 9 seconds from Barry Davidson with Peter Wakefield a further 4 seconds back in third.

Costello added: ‘Getting a board at Sulby Bridge with P1 on it put a massive smile on my face. I knew it would change once the others came out of their pit-stops. But it was a great strategy by Bob Jackson, especially with such wet and misty conditions the race could easily have been stopped early. ‘

With Costello coming into the pits to refuel at the end of lap 3, Barry Davidson moved back into the lead with a 21 second ahead of Peter Wakefield in second. The Bob Jackson team did a great pit-stop and Maria was pushed off by Graeme Crosby – Daytona 200, Imola 200, Suzuka 8 Hours, and Isle of Man TT winner, and rejoined the race in third place.

The chequered flag was out and Barry Davidson took the honours with a race time of 1:42.30.89 from Peter Wakefield (1:43.08.50) in second but there was drama unfolding for the final podium position.

Costello, who was the first woman solo competitor to achieve a podium on the mountain course in 2006, having closed the gap to 7 seconds in third place by the Bungalow, was reported to be stopping at Governors Dip.

The battery on the T20 had failed and the bike had stopped. Maria, without knowing that she had almost six minutes on the next rider in fourth place, paddled the bike out of the dip and then, with the chequered flag in view, pushed the bike to the finish line to take third place in a time of 1:47.31.88.(...)
Read the rest of MARIA COSTELLO MBE MAKES HISTORY AGAIN

© Administrator for Female Racing News | News about Women in Motorsports, 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: maria costello

The two-week-long event is one of Maria’s biggest on her calendar and also one of her favourites due to past success which includes holding the female TT lap record for five years and in 2005 at the Manx Grand Prix she became the first woman on the podium in a race around the course. This year it left her with a new personal best lap time and smiling but it didn’t run without incident.

Sunshine cleared the over-night rain and the Isle of Man TT Monster Energy Supersport race 1 started in dry conditions at 10.45amon Monday 6^th June. Maria was just in to her second lap when the race was red flagged and stopped. The race re-started at 1pmover a shorter distance of just three laps. The dilemma of whether to pit for fuel on lap one or lap two would prove crucial for all competitors.(...)
Read the rest of SUCCESSFUL TT FOR COSTELLO

© Administrator for Female Racing News | News about Women in Motorsports, 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: maria costello, r1, TT Monster Energy Supersport

Road racer, Maria Costello MBE, will be supporting the CoppaFeel! breast cancer charity this season. The CoppaFeel! logo will be seen on every bike she races in 2011. The vast array of race machinery will range from her CMS Yamaha R6 used at International road races, her self-built Kawasaki Supertwin in the Irish Supertwin championship, a Ducati 848 Evo in the 848 Challenge, a Suzuki XR69 in the Post Classic Manx Grand Prix and a Dunstall Norton Lowboy in America.
 
By carrying the logo Maria aims to help raise awareness for the charity and of course about breast cancer.
 
Maria commented, ‘I have some close personal reasons for choosing this charity and although there are many cancer charities out there I wanted one which I could relate to personally and this one really is sending out a message that all women of my age should be hearing. It’s a strange coincidence that the woman who created CoppaFeel! is local to me. So although they are now based in London I feel like it’s a local charity.’

(...)
Read the rest of MARIA COSTELLO WANTS YOU TO COPPAFEEL!

© Administrator for Female Racing News | News about Women in Motorsports, 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: maria costello

Maria Costello M.B.E. achieved an impressive podium finish on her Kawasaki ER650 Supertwin ‘the pizza race bike’ in it’s debut race at the Cookstown 100 which marks the start of the 2011 Ulster road racing season.
 
The Supertwin podium success tasted even sweeter due to the fact that Maria, the PR Agent for the Bering motorcycle clothing brand, had built the bike herself over winter, finishing it with only a day in-hand prior to this event.
 
With only a short three lap practice session of the Orritor circuit at Cookstown Maria’s lap times put her fifth on the grid for the Supertwin B Race.
 
A cracking start put Maria with the four front runners from the off. With each lap she got more accustomed to her new race bike and picked off riders one-by-one until she only had the leader, Tom Llewelyn, ahead of her. Maria chased hard and in doing so improved her lap times by almost six seconds. A red-flag incident brought the race to a premature end and saw Tom LLewelyn take the win from Maria, a delighted runner-up.(...)
Read the rest of MARIA COSTELLO SCORES PODIUM FOR PIZZA RACE BIKE AT COOKSTOWN 100

© Administrator for Female Racing News | News about Women in Motorsports, 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cookstown 100, maria costello, pizza race bike

It’s over ten years ago since Maria last competed in a short-circuit support race at a British Superbike Championship event. But her lack of recent short-circuit experience was no match for her absolute desire to compete on a Ducati, a brand with vast racing heritage. And despite the huge challenge, Maria accepted the invitation to race the VIPDucati 848 Evo Superbikebike without hesitation.

The Challenge opening round saw last season’s runner-up Leon Morris take the double win pushed hard all the way by double second placed man and former British Supersport champion Mike Edwards. The competition was hot and the pace was fast and although Maria found more speed with each session on track she finished in 19th and 18th places respectively.

While slightly disappointed with her results nothing could detract from the sheer satisfaction and enjoyment Maria obtained from racing a Ducati in the 848 Challenge.

(...)
Read the rest of MARIA COSTELLO FULFILS HER DUCATI RACING AMBITION.

© Administrator for Female Racing News | News about Women in Motorsports, 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: ducati, maria costello

Maria Costello aboard the Steve Wheatman Suzuki XR69 at the 2010 Manx Grand Prix.

The Northampton racer is heading off to sunnier climes to compete on a Trident Engineering Suzuki XR69 in the annual South African Classic TT Series which runs over three consecutive weekends at three different circuits.
 
The series kicks off on January 22nd at the Historic East London Grand Prix circuit followed by a two day event at the Zwartkops Raceway concluding with another two day event at the Killarney Racetrack in Cape Town. The Zwartkops event coincides with the 50th anniversary of the circuit and more spectators are expected to attend this three day event than attended the recent World Superbike Event at Kyalami.
 
The former Isle of Man TT female lap record holder will be riding the same Suzuki XR69 she used to compete on in the Manx Grand Prix Senior Post Classic race in 2010. She narrowly missed a podium finish on this bike when the steering damper bolt snapped off forcing her to reduce her speed. Maria is therefore keen to be reacquainted with a bike she feels she has unfinished business with.(...)
Read the rest of Maria Costello to Race in ’11 South African TT

© Administrator for Female Racing News | News about Women in Motorsports, 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: maria costello

The Northampton racer followed up her recent record-busting performance at the Ulster Grand Prix to finish within a whisker of third place in the Manx Grand Prix Senior Post Classic race on the Isle of Man on Monday.
 
The former Isle of Man TT female lap record holder was riding superbly in third place and was set for another podium finish when the steering damper of her Suzuki XR69 snapped off forcing her to reduce her speed.
 
However, despite the damper failure Costello was thrilled to have ridden so well in a race won by Michael Dunlop in a record time of one hour 18 minutes 6.23 seconds. Costello had entered the last lap behind Dunlop and runner-up Michael Buckley dreaming of her second Isle of Man podium following her 2005 third place in the ultra lightweight category. But the snapped steering damper meant her final lap time of 22mins 46.13 seconds was not enough to prevent Geoff Martin and Chris McGahan overtaking her.(...)
Read the rest of Mechical Failure takes Podium from Maria Costello

© Administrator for Female Racing News | News about Women in Motorsports, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: maria costello

Maria Costello M.B.E made her debut at the Cookstown 100 this weekend, the opening round of the Irish Road Race season, on the CMS Honda RVF400. Costello will be competing at a selection of Irish Road Races throughout the season alongside her team mate Davy Morgan as part of the 2010 CSC Team.

Maria arrived at the Orritor Circuit, County Tyrone on Thursday evening with just enough daylight to complete some laps on a scooter and a couple in a car with a fellow racer.

Friday: Once the lap on the newcomers bus was completed practice commenced on Friday afternoon in dry and sunny conditions. Her first five laps were done in controlled conditions in the ‘newcomers un-timed’ session. A further two timed sessions followed and Maria found another two seconds faster in the later session. However Maria’s overall performance had been hindered by the bike over heating and losing power at the end of each session. Despite this problem she had still achieved her goal of qualifying in the ‘A Race’ which she realised with a lap time of 1 min 41.5 seconds.(...)
Read the rest of MARIA COSTELLO ENJOYS COOKSTOWN 100 DEBUT

© Administrator for Female Racing News | News about Women in Motorsports, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cms honda rvf400, cookstown 100, irish road race, maria costello

The Northamptonshire racer, along with all those competing at the 2008 Manx Grand Prix, had endured a difficult fortnight plagued by bad weather causing what seemed like never-ending delays and cancelled practice sessions. Costello finally got to race a round the TT course, all be it over a reduced distance of three laps [113.19 miles], when the Ultra-lightweight race got underway at 4.00pm on Saturday the 30^th August, more than a day later than originally scheduled.

(...)
Read the rest of Maria Costello finished in a solid sixth place at this year’s Manx Grand Prix.

© Administrator for Female Racing News | News about Women in Motorsports, 2008. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: 2 wheels, GBmoto, grand prix, honda rvf400, maria costello, motorscycle racing

THE opening round of the Triumph Triple Challenge was just that for bike racer Maria Costello.

The female TT lap record holder endured a tough debut weekend at Donington Park riding her Philip Youles-backed machine.
(...)
Read the rest of Maria makes her point

© Administrator for Female Racing News | News about Women in Motorsports, 2008. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: maria costello, Moto, motorcyle