Maria Costello scores best ever result at TT
Maria Costello marked hew twentieth year competing at the Isle of Man TT in style, by taking her best-ever finish in the Bennetts Lightweight TT last week.
The 42 year-old from Northamptonshire finished in 12th place on her Kawasaki Supertwin.
Maria started from 31st on the road but rode a superb opening lap of 112.656mph (from a standing start), to place her 13th in a field of over 50 riders.
Lap two was even faster and, despite having to slow for a pit stop to take on fuel, she lapped at 113.128mph to hold onto a strong 15th place.
Costello's pit crew produced one of her best pit stops and refuelled the Kawasaki in great time to send the only female solo competitor out for the two remaining laps.
Unfortunately clutch problems hindered her progress slightly and, as she crossed the finishing line, she lost out on 11th place by just 0.065 seconds.
A new personal best finish of 12th place and a bronze replica to add to the growing collection made a good present to mark Maria's 20th TT anniversary.
Understandably, Maria was delighted with her performance:
“I was so delighted with that finish and to claim my best ever result at the TT, it means the world to me, especially as this is my 20th year racing on the IoM. I don’t think I could have ever dreamed that I would still be competitive this many years after my first time racing on the TT course.
“I’ve trained hard, worked hard and managed to put together a great team at the last moment to pull off something so special. The atmosphere in my team was amazing and I think that went a long way to me producing my best result.
“Kevin is always my rock and knows what I need before I even have to ask, I can’t go racing without him. I met Seth while racing in New Zealand and having his help and positive attitude was fantastic. Jon McClean is an incredible motorcycle valet and I’ve adored having one of the best turned out bikes at the TT, while the final member, Liam Beckett, is a road racing legend and having him was the icing on the cake as he filled the awning with motivation and laughter with all his experience and stories. I’m happy and proud, although my thoughts also lie with all those who didn’t make it home. My most heartfelt and sincere condolences go to the families who will not see their loved ones again.”