Pic by Dirk Wharton

The new all-female racing sidecar team of Maria Costello MBE and Julie Canipa got their season off to a great start as they prepare to race at the Isle of Man TT.

The new duo are delighted with their first two outings of the season at Oulton Park and Mallory Park.

Northamptonshire racer Costello, racing her Frog Property Developments LCR Kawasaki, and her sidecar partner Canipa, from the Isle of Man, secured two top-10 finishes in the F2 class at the second round of the MRO Championships at Oulton Park.

They followed that by taking another two top-10 (7th & 6th) overall finishes in the EMRA sidecar races at Mallory Park.

Costello said:

“I’m over the moon with how we’ve started the season, especially as we have gone straight in to racing without any testing. Julie is a great passenger and we’ve already secured all our signatures for our TT Mountain Course licence and can now look forward to testing some new parts before the TT.”

Julie added:

“Maria has been driving brilliantly, with her confidence in our pairing showing in our results. We’ve had a fantastic start to the season.”

Maria added:

“Our small team really seems to be gelling well, the MJW Specialist engines are proving great as are the Avon tyres and the Nitron Suspension. I’m also over the moon with the new livery, special thanks to the combined efforts of Pluckley Coachworks, Premier Display & ColourKraft. Thanks also to Frog Property Developments for coming onboard as our main sponsor and to all my sponsors for making this season possible.”

The pair are looking forward to receiving their new matching race suits from RST to finish off their look for 2019 and will now concentrate on testing ahead of the Isle of Man TT meeting, having secured the required signatures for their TT mountain course licence.

For the latest news on Costello, including sponsorship opportunities, track days for women and other events, please visit her website at http://www.costelloracing.com.

2019 Sponsors:

Frog Property Developments Ltd,
NGK Spark Plugs Ltd, Metzeler, Mac Tools UK, Rock Oil, Kawasaki, MJW Developments, H&S Construction, CP Fabrication & Welding, Nitron Suspension, RST Moto, Arai Helmets, Knox, Sports insure, Premier Bodyworks, QuinnsThePrinters.com, Premier Display,
Jap4 Performance, GB Racing, Racebikebitz, DR Moto,
Racing batteries, Progrip, Pipercross, Probolt, Radicool, Stomp Grip, Paul Garner Designs, Christian Baker, DnG, Wollaston Therapy Centre, Hel Performance, Sporttape, Trilogy, Rex Physio,
Barry Goudriaan, Black Dub, BareFoot Nutrition, Sparkes Management Support.