By Suzi Mewes
May 11 2005

Maria Costello, the fastest woman motorcycle racer in the UK, will be testing the RLR Motorsports’ Honda RVF400 this week. The test is in preparation for Maria’s début appearance at the well-known North West 200 in little over a week. Maria plans to race in both the 400cc and 600cc classes as she takes to the roads in Ireland.

The RLR Motorsports’ RVF400 is no stranger to road racing success. The TT’s fastest man and North West 200 regular, John McGuinness, has raced a similar machine to victory on a number of occasions. Maria is very excited to be given the opportunity to work with the respected team at RLR Motorsports. “I’m very pleased to be riding an RLR bike for my début at the North West,” says Maria. “RLR Motorsports are renowned for their fantastic achievements with 400cc machines, and I hope I can continue that success for them.”

Maria will be taking the RVF400 out for her first test on Wednesday 11 May at Mallory Park, as she gets set to contest the real road racing event in Ireland next week. Maria already holds the Guinness World Record for being the fastest female around the infamous Isle of Man TT and she hopes to continue this success in Ireland.

“I’m looking forward to testing the bike, it will be a perfect shake down before the NW 200,” says Maria.

The RVF400 that Maria will be using during her North West 200 campaign is to the same specification as the one ridden by John McGuinness - when he won the Lightweight TT both in 2003 and 2004, and also won and smashed the NW200 lap record in 2004.

Ricky, from RLR Motorsports, concludes, “Maria has already made a name for herself in road racing with her amazing achievements at the TT. We hope with our RVF she can have a great start to her career at the North West 200. We have been racing for over fourteen years and have gained race success through our speed and reliability. We are sure that Maria will benefit from our experience and after the North West she will be added to our list of winners.”