THE opening round of the Triumph Triple Challenge was just that for bike racer Maria Costello.
The female TT lap record holder endured a tough debut weekend at Donington Park riding her Philip Youles-backed machine.
Maria, who lives in Leyland, suffered brake failure on the opening lap of qualifying and crashed out of the first day's session.
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Lucky to escape without injury, she was forced to sit out practice and Superpole as her team worked to repair the damage and solve the brake failure problem.
"I'd been really looking forward to this meeting, I love Donington, so to start with a crash wasn't good," said Maria, who was the first woman solo racer to be on the podium in the history of the Isle of Man TT and Manx Grand Prix.
"The brake failure problem is something others have encountered, but for me it was a first, and hopefully, my last time.
"It was very scary approaching Redgate corner with the brake lever repeatedly coming straight back to the bar."
But declared fit to race, and with the organisers' permission to start from the back of the grid, Maria set about trying to salvage something from her two races, hoping her smooth riding style would pay off in the freezing conditions.
"It was so cold that people were crashing all around; the track temperature meant getting and keeping any heat in your tyres was almost impossible, so you had to feel your way around." added Maria.
And from a back row grid position, she crossed the line eighth in class.
"Those were my first laps of the weekend, so I'm more than happy to get some points on the board," she said
Keen to improve, Maria got a cracking start in race two - until a fallen rider brought out the red flag.
The wait for the re-start meant tyres lost all their heat and although the second start wasn't as good, Maria went on to finish sixth in class.
The next round is at Cadwell Park on 26-27 April.
l Maria Costello is supported by CMS of Blackburn; Philip Youles Motorcycles, Blackburn; Tony Holmes and David Sutton.
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