By Suzi Mewes
May 13 2005

Maria Costello heads to Ireland to race in her first North West 200: The fastest woman motorcycle racer in the UK will make her début at the Irish event. Maria Costello will start her campaign at the North West 200 onboard an RLR Honda RVF400, and her BERING Honda CBR600RR. Maria will be travelling to Ireland over the weekend ready for her first practice sessions on Tuesday 19 May. She will be racing in both the 400 and 600cc classes, and is looking forward to her first trip to the well-known Irish road race.

Maria began her preparations earlier in the week when she tested the RLR Motorsport RVF400 at Mallory Park. Maria was pleased with testing and said, “The RVF was a darling to ride, I was on the pace from the first lap. Its gorgeous power delivery is matched by its great handling. I wish I’d raced one of these RLR 400s years ago. I’d like to give a special thank you to Tim Bradley for the loan of his bike, and to Ricky at RLR Motorsports for organising it. I’d also like to say a big thank you to Chris and Dave at X-Bikes for preparing my Bering Honda.”

Maria believes she is in the best physical condition she has ever been for these races, and this is down to a gruelling training schedule. David Sutton, Maria’s Performance Coach, says, “Maria has had an excellent period of training over the winter. The surgery on her collar-bone was very effective and she now has 100% use of her shoulder. Her overall strength and stability has also significantly increased, and she continues to set personal bests in the gym on a regular basis. I have developed a very effective and innovative motorcycle specific circuit session that has been a weekly part of the training and has yielded some very important carryover to the stresses that Maria experiences on the bike.”

Maria, who is already a Guinness World Record Holder at the Isle of Man TT, will begin with a newcomers practice on the evening of Tuesday 17th, followed by a second session for the 600. After a day off she will return to practice on the Thursday evening before the racing begins on Saturday. She will have one race in the 400 class of five laps and two races onboard her Bering Honda CBR600RR.

Maria says her main goal for her first attempt at Irish road racing is to enjoy herself. “I’m a newcomer and I want to learn the course and get three finishes. I’m looking forward to enjoying the craic at the NW and returning there next year!” concludes Maria.


Maria would like to thank all of her sponsors for their support: BERING, Metzeler, Logo Plus, Rock Oil, Scorpion, Arai, Goodridge UK, NGK Spark Plugs, Abbastands, Daytona Boots, The Image Works, David Sutton Personal Trainer, Fitness First Health Clubs, Specialized, Skidmarx, Dread Clothing, WSF, Sport England, Sparkes Management Support, EDZ, Rampsdirect, EXCEL, GRP Steering Dampers and X – Bikes.