Maria Costello

Epithet: ‘ordinary girl with a passion for motorbikes’

Record type: Motorsport Biographies

Biography: Maria Costello MBE is anything but ordinary. From 2004 she held the Guinness World Record as the fastest woman at the TT (average 114.73mph) until Jenny Tinmouth took the record in 2009. Maria was also the first solo woman to stand on the podium for the Mountain Circuit coming 3rd in the 2005 Ultra Lightweight at the Manx Grand Prix.

Maria jokingly refers to herself as the “Grandmother of motorbike racing” a reference to the younger, female newcomers to the sport. Maria’s years of experience, racing alongside the men, have made her a racing matriarch of sorts, keen to encourage other women into the sport.

“You cannot go racing unless you race against men and I don’t want all-female races. I like being able to compete against guys on equal terms, it’s one of the best things about my sport.”

Although Maria enjoys racing in a mixed field she recognises not all women have the confidence to do so and so in response to comments from her female followers she now runs women-only riding skills track days which aim to boost bike-handling skills and confidence in female riders of all abilities.

“I want to celebrate the fact that women can ride bikes and there are lots of us doing it!”

Maria rode to Buckingham Palace on her motorbike in 2009 to collect her MBE from Prince Charles. She says that for as long as she can get herself on her bike she’ll carry on racing.

Gender: Female

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