The Northamptonshire racer registered a brace of strong finishes in the Supertwin class at an incident marred Vauxhall International Northwest 200.

Rare bursts of sunshine graced each qualifying session and Maria took advantage to record the 14th fastest time in the first Supertwin qualifying session on her NGK/ESM-backed Kawasaki ER6, with a quickest lap time of 5mins 21.970secs and average speed of 100.295mph. She improved a further four seconds in second qualifying on Thursday but other riders also improved to push her to 18th on the grid.

Costello also competed on her ESM/Wollaston BMW-backed BMW S 1000 RR Sport, and improved with each outing on her 1000cc Superstock machine. Despite recent rule changes and reduced grids, she secured a place on the grid as one of 48 qualifiers. 

Image by Brian McEwan Photography

Thursday evening’s races were set to take place in fantastic weather, but a non-race related domestic fire brought the first Vauxhall-backed Supertwin race to a halt. After a short delay, the race was restarted and Costello produced an excellent start at the front of the second wave of riders. She completed the first two laps of the four-lap scheduled race as the second-placed rider in her group and 13th overall, when the red flags were thrown once more after a coming together at the front of the field between Ryan Farquhar and Dan Cooper. A race result was declared as the stricken riders were tended to and the evening’s races were brought to an early finish.

Saturday would see Costello take to the grid for her first Superstock race of the event, having been rescheduled from Thursday evening. She completed the first two laps in 36th place, recording  a time of 4mins 56.872secs on the latter – an average speed of 108.774mph and an impressive 190.7mph through the speed trap. On the third lap Maria and the group she was racing with were shown two red flags and subsequent yellow flags and returned to the pits under the impression that the race had been neutralized only to find the front group continuing to race. The red flags were apparently a mistake but this would deny Maria and at least eight other racers a result.

Despite that disappointment, Costello was showing good form again in the opening laps of the second Supertwin race, sponsored by J M Paterson, and was enjoying a great battle with Marty Lennon and Xavier Denis and was up to 11th place when the red flag was shown.

Sadly the race was stopped due to the tragic accident where Malachi Mitchell Thomas succumbed to his injuries. The remaining race action was called off as the desperately sad news filtered through the paddock.

Image by Andy Gray Photography

Costello commented on the week’s events: 

“It’s hard to talk about what we achieved when we have lost such a talented young racer from our racing family. I just want to express my most sincere condolences to his dad Kevin, all his family and friends and also to John Burrows and his Cookstown team, who I know well having ridden for them in the past. I wish all those injured during the event a full and speedy recovery. This can be a cruel sport and it’s hard for outsiders to understand why we continue but I do this sport because I love it.

I’m proud of what we’ve managed to achieve here with 11th and 13th place finishes in the Supertwin class and I will be taking the positives from this event with me to the Isle of Man where I’ll be competing in the Lightweight TT.”

“I also need to thank so many people for getting me here to the grid, namely Kev Corbally, Jared Love, Mark Arnott, Stephen Ferguson, Michael and Scott Swann, John and Dave, paddock men Michael and Jim, Kyra Fields. Special thanks also to Derek & David of ThompsonLeisure.com for the motorhome, Metzeler Tyres, Leon Jeacock of Complog Performance, Kurt from BMW Motorrad, Jon of Motorcycle Valet NI, and of course Mervyn Whyte and all his team, the marshals and all the volunteers who made the event possible.”

Next on the calendar for Costello is the road racing jewel in the crown – The Isle of Man TT on the famous 37.73 mile mountain circuit over the fortnight commencing 28 May. Competing once more in the Lightweight TT, Costello is looking forward to her return to ‘the rock’: “There is no better place to race motorbikes than the TT circuit. It’s a unique event and a challenge for any racer. We’ve been competitive there in recent years and with the additional help from Nova Racing I’m hoping we can go even better, so I can’t wait to see what we can achieve this year.”

For more details on Maria’s racing and other activities, including upcoming events, track days and opportunities to support her racing efforts, please visit her website here.


If you're female and want to be part of Maria's 'Woman on a Motorcycle' Facebook group you can join here.


2016 Sponsors: 

The European Shoe Machinery Company Ltd, NGK Spark Plugs, BMW Motorrad UK, Wollaston BMW, Nova Racing, Rock Oil, Metzeler Tyres, Arai, Knox, Hel Performance, Wilbers, Vmtek Suspension, Jap4Performance, CPL Print Ltd, Premier Bodyworks, Hol-Taj, Radicool, EBC Brakes, Signs2Wraps, Kawasaki UK Ltd, GBRacing, Racebikebitz - Samco hoses, Pro-Bolt, Daytona Boots, Pipercross, APC Wet Paint Ltd, Christian Baker, CrossFit East Northants, DnG, Trilogy Gyms, Bespoke Injury Management, Progrips, Promach, Skidmarx, The Joseph’s Experience, Towergate Insurance, http://www.hellomarket.co.uk, Complog Performance, IM1 Car Centre, Raceprint Artwork & Design, Isle of Man TT Breaks, Ymark Paintwork, Sparkes Management Support, Motorcycle Valet NI, CHI Fire Solutions Ltd, Wiz knee sliders, ThompsonLeisure.com, Stomp Grip & SKINS.