Maria Costello M.B.E made her debut at the Cookstown 100 last 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.

With the over heating issues it was essential for the engine to be replaced with the spare, recently re-freshed by tuner Tony Holmes, once practice had concluded. Costello’s sponsor and mechanics worked late in to the evening to ensure she would have a machine on which she could secure a finish on the following day.

Saturday: Racers and fans alike were pleased to be greeted by yet another dry and sunny day, albeit slightly cooler, for race day of the season opener. With the new engine installed Costello was allowed one lap during the warm up for the 125 race to ensure all was as it should be for her one and only race of the day in the combined 250GP / 400SS Race.

As she lined up on the grid her CSC Team mechanic Maurice Hogg gave the bike a final check over and Maria some final words of advice before the flag dropped and Maria was away with the pack down the fast top gear straight and in to the heavy breaking zone of the first corner.

Still learning the course with each lap Maria’s confidence was boosted by the fact that she could easily maintain the same pace as her rivals and during the race she improved her laps times by over 4.5 seconds. It was only when a couple of slower riders were encountered that her lack of knowledge of the course meant that she lost touch with the two front runners. Once past them she set about catching and passing the 400 in front. She did so on the final lap, out-braking him at the McAdoo Bends which was a feat in itself as the brakes were fading fast due to the deteriorating front brake master cylinder. Maria crossed the finish line in 3rd place in the 400 class, lapping the course in a commendable 1 min 37.9 seconds.

Maria Costello:

“I really enjoyed racing the Orritor Circuit and I’m really pleased with my lap times. I’m getting a real taste for these Irish road races and the Irish hospitality is always second to none. My sponsor Tony Morris brought two of his friends along, one of which used to work for Honda in Grand Prix. I don’t think they expected to get their hands dirty but they worked alongside my mechanic Tim McGivern and did a great job of swapping engines in the RVF. The weekend wouldn’t have been possible without my personal sponsor Tony Morris, mechanic Tim McGivern, Steve, Simon, Maurice Hogg and the CSC Team. Thank you to all my sponsors and supporters for keeping me on track.


Personal Sponsor Tony Morris of CMS:

“The weekend has been so enjoyable. The Irish couldn’t be more accommodating. It hasn’t been without its hurdles but nothing is worth doing is easy. I was so pleased to see Maria cross the finish line especially as that bike hasn’t been run since the Manx Grand Prix last year. Maria deserves to be pleased with what she achieved this weekend and I look forward to the next outing which could be as soon as the Thundersport GB round at Snetterton this weekend.”


To find out where Maria is racing next go to http://www.costelloracing.com or follow her on facebook or twitter, just got to her website for the links.