Maria Costello forced to withdraw from Isle of Man TT after a crash

Costello crashed on Monday during the Supertwin class qualifying and was absent on Tuesday and Wednesday, as a result.

A statement has confirmed: Following an incident on the opening day of qualifying, Maria Costello MBE has been withdrawn from competing at this year’s Isle of Man TT Races under the instruction of the Chief Medical Officer.

“We’d like to wish Maria a speedy recovery and look forward to her continued punditry on this year’s TT+ coverage.”

She was due to compete in the Supertwin and Sidecar categories, representing FHO.

Four years she made history as the first female ever to finish both a Sidecar race and a solo race at the same TT event.

Costello said to Manx Radio: "Physically I feel absolutely fine in myself but, quite rightly, the medical team here take any possible head injury very seriously.

“I’m hugely disappointed to miss out on what is the biggest event of my season, but I’ll be back next year.

"It takes a massive amount of effort and support to get here, something that I couldn’t do without the backing of my amazing team and sponsors, but they’ve been incredibly supportive through this very unfortunate situation.

“I’ll stay on and enjoy the sunshine and the racing, and I’m looking forward to helping out on the TV coverage even more.

"I also want to wish Colin the very best for rest of the TT, having jumped in the chair alongside Alan Founds. I’ll be cheering them on!”