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Valerie Thompson is currently the world’s fastest female motorcycle racer. But that’s not Thompson’s goal, nor that of her team.
The records for official land speed records are globally sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, and Thompson is determined to own the official FIM world record for fastest motorcycle racer, period. FIM holds no gender distinction. If you’re the fastest, you’re the fastest. There are no bonus points, no asterisks.
In 2018, Thompson, an Arizona resident, became the fastest woman on two wheels at 328.467 mph, riding the BUB 7 streamliner on the salt at Lake Gairdner in South Australia. She is only the second person to enter the 300 mph club for event organizers, Dry Lakes Racers Australia. Her 328.467 record run was achieved despite sporadic gremlins in the on-board electronics which caused the streamliner to drop a cylinder and prevented top gear access.
But, Valerie was at Gairdner to fry bigger fish. Her team wants the FIM land speed record held since 2010 by Rocky Robinson, riding the Top One Ack-Attack streamliner at 376.363 mph.
On the last day of the 2018 event, while entering mile 3 at a telemetry-estimated 363 mph pace, an errant wind caught the racer and Thompson became airborne. The streamliner flipped twice — end-over-end —and rolled in the air. Onboard safety systems are designed to automatically deploy the parachute to stabilize the motorcycle when the ’liner tips more than 45 degrees from vertical. At that point, the rider becomes a passenger — and the safety system worked.
The ’liner slid for nearly a mile on its right side while shedding parts, including the canopy.
“That’s the first time anyone has crashed over 300 mph and walked away,” Thompson said. She suffered bruises, a lacerated leg, and a null spot in her memory. “I don’t remember the actual crash, it’s blanked out.”
Denis Manning is the team leader, bike builder and guiding force. He has designed and constructed seven land speed record vehicles over his 50-plus years, and he builds safe racers. Team owners John Jans and Joe Harralsan credit his experience for the safety factor of the machine.
“Vehicles don’t know if a man or a woman is in there and neither does the vehicle care. It took me a long time to feel that way because I’m out there just doing something that I love.”
BUB 7 has owned the LSR in 2006 and 2009, most famously in a fierce 2006 competition vying with Chris Carr riding Top One Ack-Attack, where they traded records.
BUB 7 is powered by a 500 HP purpose-built, super-charged V4 with double overhead cams, 4-valves/cylinder, and fueled by methanol. Its class designation is Streamliner/Blown Fuel (S/BF) with a max displacement of 3000cc. Rear wheel drive is by a water-cooled 530 chain linked through a four-speed transmission. Air-actuated skids provide low speed stabilization. The two-wheel machine is 25 feet long, barely 22 inches wide, fully enclosed in a carbon-fiber monocoque shell and weighs 1,600 pounds. Manning has joked that its low “coho-efficient” rating of .08 is due to the slippery design he mimicked from free-swimming salmon.
FIM certifies land speed records on three long-distance areas worldwide — Bonneville in Utah, Lake Gairdner in Australia, and the Salar de Uyuni salt flats in Bolivia. Bolivia might be the largest area with the longest pristine race surface, but Thompson considers Australia to provide the best opportunity.
“Gairdner is prestige. The salt is just as good as Bolivia, but Uyuni is primitive and hard to get to. Deliveries of vehicles and supplies are often late, sometimes days late into the event limiting race time, and it’s a third-world country if you crash. We won’t race BUB 7 there. Safety is paramount with Manning.”
So, what’s it like to ride the streamliner?
“I don’t have a steering wheel; I have a hand controlled F14 jet fighter flight yoke on each side with push-pull of barely inches. Each stick has buttons for parachutes and landing skids. Foot control is a throttle.
“When they close the canopy, everything comes to life, including the engine. I get a quick burst of energy when it’s all systems go. Immediately, I transfer myself into a calm zone. I take hold of the two controls and I know I’m not going to let go until I slow down. I get a count down and the car tows me away. At about 50 mph down the course, I let the tow rope go and I plug it right into first gear. It gets very loud and a bit bumpy. It’s calming now, pure concentration. I’m very close to the ground and it gets fast quickly.
“First gear is 190 mph, second gear is 285 mph, third is 325 and fourth is 350 plus. At Bonneville, you’re timed in the sixth mile, so you better be at speed. Exiting the measured mile I lift and deploy the first of two parachutes.
“I’m strapped in very tightly, there’s no room to wriggle. I can barely turn my helmet but there’s no need to. And there’s that huge G-force with the ’chutes.
“One time,” she laughs, “I pulled the chute too early and it broke off. Note to self, don’t do that again.
“The feeling of speed is sensational; you’re going so fast, but inside, there are no distractions, no one can call me, no one can text me. I have to be calm and 100 percent concentrated.”
FIM rules require an opposite direction return run within a 2-hour launch window to certify the attempt, so the ’liner is usually prepped quickly. The crash prevented that return run. But the team is shooting for the record and BUB 7 is quite capable.
And what about empowering women to follow their dreams?
“Vehicles don’t know if a man or a woman is in there and neither does the vehicle care. It took me a long time to feel that way because I’m out there just doing something that I love. While I was doing that, I didn’t know that I was empowering anyone. Now, with sponsors to promote, being inspirational comes with the territory. I just educate people about what I do. That may be empowering.
“I have a front seat to history,” she says. “My goal is just to go over 380 miles an hour with a back-up run. We want that record.”
Michaud is a San Diego-based motorcycle writer and restorer. Send email to jmichaud@san.rr.com.
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