MARIA COSTELLO SECURES PATON MACHINERY FOR TT 2019
Maria Costello MBE has confirmed she will contest this year’s Isle of Man TT Races, after securing a deal to race a Paton Supertwin.
The Northamptonshire racer will ride one of the Mark Coverdale-owned machines for the first time, having run her own Kawasaki machine since debuting in the class in 2012. The Paton S1 has become the machine of choice in recent years, with Michael Rutter and Michael Dunlop winning in 2017 and 2018 respectively, and the latter setting a new lap record at an average speed of 122.750mph last year.
Costello, who was recently appointed as the first ever female President of the TT Riders’ Association, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for me. I tried this Paton last year and, whilst I only did a few laps, it’s on another level in terms of performance and handling. This makes me very excited about the added potential this gives me at all the International Road Races, especially the Isle of Man TT.”
Costello has achieved significant results in over twenty years’ experience of racing on the Isle of Man TT Course. A regular frontrunner in the Senior Classic TT where she also rides Paton machinery, Maria finished third in 2016 to stand on the TT Podium alongside John McGuinness and Dean Harrison.
Mark Coverdale said: “I’m delighted to be able to support Maria with sponsorship and lending her one of my Patons. Maria is an excellent Road Racer and is inspirational in her dedication to supporting Road Racing, educating youngsters, and encouraging women to enter the sport. Her success with this brand has been seen before with her podium at the Classic TT. It’s a breed of bike that really suits her and I’m really looking forward to seeing her achieve more successes this season.”
Tickets for the 2019 events are now on sale via the Official iomttraces.com website including Official Grandstand Tickets, VIP Hospitality Experiences, and Official Entertainment Events. You can stay up to date with all the latest TT news by subscribing to the Official Isle of Man TT Races Newsletter.
Images by Amy Rose Photography
