Northamptonshire speed queen Maria Costello lifts the lid on her amazing motorbike racing career to date in a new book out this month.
 
The former Isle of Man TT female lap recorder, who was awarded the MBE last year for services to her sport, speaks honestly and openly about her experiences over the past 15 years as a racer – and the battles she is still fighting. Costello, of Spratton, competes on equal terms with the male bikers and has had a rollercoaster ride from the day she got her first scooter to ride to work in Northampton.
 
She has broken many of the bones in her body at least once, she has seen tragedy close-up, she has fought valiantly to be accepted in the male-dominated paddock and she has had her share of tears and heartache. But the speedster has also had some magnificently uplifting and rewarding moments, including setting the lap record at the Isle of Man, claiming a podium place in the Manx Grand Prix, becoming a role model for younger girls, working with top film and TV stars like Reese Witherspoon, Christina Ricci and Tamzin Outhwaite  and sharing a joke with Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace.
 
Maria’s racing career is one of defiance and ultimate acceptance – defiance of her parents as she embarked on her racing career and defiance in the face of obstacles that few people would have had the courage to tackle. And as she has gradually been accepted into the fiercely competitive world of motorbike racing, so her parents have been won round after initially vowing never to back their daughter as a racer.
 
Maria Costello – Queen of Bikers (Pennant Books, £18.99) tells the story of one woman’s dogged obsession to be a success in a man’s world and the price her body and mind has paid for that obsession.
 
Log on to Maria’s website at www.costelloracing.com to get your exclusive signed copy of her limited edition hardback book.