Maria Costello MBE made it a clean sweep of top ten finishes when she claimed an excellent eighth place on her ESM/Hol-Taj backed Kawasaki ER6 Pizza Race Bike in the Supertwins race at Killalane on Sunday.
Rounding off her Irish Supertwin Championship season with yet another finish within the top ten, the Northamptonshire based racer and founder of ‘Woman on a Motorcycle’, was delighted with how the final round of the season had played out.
Maria arrived at the challenging 3.6 mile Killalane circuit for the season finale, having already secured a string of consecutive top 10 finishes in all previous races attended this season. But with a previous best of 16th at this road race Maria was looking for some essential qualifying laps to get to grips with a track she hadn’t ever gelled with. The weather put pay to that when it took a turn for the worst and left the race organisers no choice but to limit track time to 5 controlled laps behind a travelling marshal and grids would be determined on championship points.
Race day arrived with much better weather prospects and the paddock and spectators were relieved that racing would get underway in safer conditions. Despite a couple of showers, by the time the Supertwins left the grid the circuit was dry and Costello could focus on getting a personal best around Killalane.
Costello’s great run of results this season gave her enough championship points to secure a second row start. The flag was lifted but despite a good get away Costello was out dragged to the first corner by many of her rivals including Derek Costello and Nigel Moore. The battle of the Costellos’ ensued but with only five laps and a lack of circuit knowledge Maria ran out of time, snatching 8th from Moore just before the chequered flag:
“I’m relieved to have come through the meeting unscathed and I’m equally delighted to have taken 8th position! I’ve never had a top 10 here before, so to do this and also continue the 100% run of top 10 positions on the Irish roads this season is the icing on the cake. I’m proud of what we’ve managed to achieve with the bike and I have to thank Bob Jackson for putting together a strong and reliable engine. Special thanks must also go to my right hand man, Kev Corbally, for all of his help and support thoughout this season.” commented Costello.
Next, Maria turns her hand to a very different kind of racing with this weekend’s classic event at the glorious Goodwood Revival meeting. Maria is part of the first all female race team alongside Fabienne Severinne-Hoffman. The women will pair up on a real works racer, one of only three ever made, a 1956 498cc BMW RS 500, that Walter Zeller raced to second place behind John Surtees in the World Championship. The DOHC engine is similar to the RS 54, but has a shorter stroke and 5-speed gear box:
“The Goodwood Revival meeting is one of my favourite events of the racing calendar. You get to take a step back in time to the wonderful era of the 1950s and 60s. The fabulous Vintage Hair Lounge will be taking care of my hairstyles again this year with Hand Picked Vintage providing some beautiful vintage pieces to wear throughout the event and Costume Hire Earls Barton are supplying me with a WAAF outfit and something to wear for the ‘Wild West’ themed ball. The attention to detail that Lord March and his team go into is staggering so it’s great that the competitors and spectators join in by dressing the part. The thrill for me though is getting to race the glorious BMW. It’s the exact bike that Walter Zeller rode to 4th place in the 1956 Senior TT at an average speed of 94.69. I feel honoured to ride it and to be part of the first BMW all women team to compete in the Barry Sheene Memorial race,” explained Maria.
