Top female biker Maria backs life-saving charity

Maria will promote and support the life saving work of Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance and national Childre’s Air Ambulance.

Based in Northamptonshire, Maria is the only female racer to become a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE).

She is also a former BBC Northampton Sports Personality of the Year.

Maria said: “I am delighted to become an ambassador for The Air Ambulance Service charity which does incredible life saving work. Road traffic collisions and sporting accidents are two of the most common causes of the missions they undertake and as a motorcyclist and sportswoman myself I take great comfort in the knowledge that they are there to deal with emergency life or death scenarios which, unfortunately, do happen.”

During her record-breaking career she has achieved many firsts on the track where she has blazed a trail for female motorcyclists.

One of her first tasks as ambassador is to encourage fellow bikers to sign up for the charity’s Ride In 2016 event on Sunday, August 14, during which they can experience the thrill of completing a lap of the legendary Leicestershire track at Bruntingthorpe - which includes a two mile straight – before riding under escort to the Brackley Festival of Motorcycling.

Tracy Grunwell, senior fundraising manager for WNAA, said: “We are very excited to have Maria on board as an ambassador. As an internationally respected motorcycle racer, Maria’s support for our charity and events like our Ride In 2016 is extremely helpful to us. We wish her luck in her Isle of Man TT race.”