Costello is going global this month when she flies out to Australia to make her Aussie debut in the Barry Sheene Festival of Speed at the Sydney Motorsports Park, formerly known as Eastern Creek Raceway.

Northamptonshire’s Maria Costello MBE received the invitation after discussing her ambition to race in Australia with motorsports photographer Grant Paterson at the Isle of Man Classic TT.

The organisers of the Barry Sheene Festival of Speed, which will be held over the weekend of 21-23 March 2014, then contacted Maria with an offer she couldn’t refuse and now she will get to realise her dream of competing on a track where her hero Mick Doohan cut his teeth.


Costello said, through huge smiles:

“It’s been a lifelong dream and it’s proof that even at 40 you should never give up on a dream. It’s a place I’ve wanted to visit since I was a kid so I’m intending on making the most of the trip. I can’t thank Grant and the organisers enough. I feel very honoured to be riding at this event.”

The Barry Sheene Festival of Speed is much more than just a motorcycle race. It's a celebration of the life of Barry in the spirit of motorcycling. In addition to the present day racers, stars from years gone by are in attendance at the event in order to celebrate Sheene’s love of motorcycles in a way that he would appreciate – fun, friendship and rivalry on the race track. Costello will be rubbing shoulders and sharing the track with legends such as Phil Read MBE, who is the guest of honour at the event. Maria added: “I can’t wait to take to the track at Eastern Creek. One of the bikes I’ll be racing is a 1988 Honda RS125 race bike – the owner, Steve Kairl, races it in a hot pink colour scheme as it’s a tribute to his girlfriend that sadly died in a car accident 5 years ago. He has very kindly allowed me to race the bike at the Festival and I hope to put in a performance that will make Steve proud.”

In addition to the RS125, Maria will also be racing a Honda VFR400 for owner Rob Frances and one of Mick Neason’s bikes – either a Suzuki XR69 or Norton Manx 500. Maria commented: “I’ve been offered some great machines to ride while I’m over there. The VFR400 is an iconic bike. I’ve raced a Suzuki XR69 previously at the Manx Grand Prix, so I know what they are all about and the Norton Manx 500 is one of my all time favourites. I really feel like the luckiest women in the world!”

Costello will be keeping everyone up-to-date through her social media and website links which can all be found on her website www.costelloracing.com.

To follow Maria on Twitter, please go to: https://twitter.com/MariaCostello.

You can also ‘like’ Maria’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Maria-Costello-Racing/43701311579


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