Valerie Thompson and Team “7” Racing, led by AMA Hall of Famer Denis Manning, are traveling halfway around the world for an attempt to capture another world’s fastest motorcycle title.The journey takes Thompson to the 28th Annual Speed Week and World Speed Trials competition at the Lake Gairdner salt flats in South Australia.
Open to cars, motorcycles and trucks, the 28th Annual Speed Week competition is hosted by the Dry Lakes Racers Australia (DLRA) from March 12-16. The World Speed Trials is a new event for motorcycles only, scheduled March 17-19 and regulated by the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) the global governing/sanctioning body of motorcycle racing as well the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA).Valerie ThompsonThompson and Team “7” Racing will use Speed Week for testing and tuning, while planning their record attempt during the World Speed Trials.“I have raced on the dry lake beds and salt flats throughout the US, but I’ve never had the opportunity to race at the Lake Gairdner salt flats,” Valerie Thompson says.“I hope our first visit to Australia leads to my first world speed record in a streamliner with Team ‘7’ Racing, the most dedicated crew I’ve ever worked with. It seems appropriate we have to travel half-way around the globe to capture the world’s fastest motorcycle title, a dream I have chased for a long time,” added an optimistic Thompson.The current record of 376.36 mph (605.69 km/h) was formerly held three times by the Manning-designed streamliner. Less than 10 mph separates the top speeds of the current record holder and the Team “7” Racing entry, setting the stage for the world’s fastest motorcycle title battle.This powerful story is being captured and produced by P-51 Pictures and MN8 Films, creators of the award-winning motorcycle racing documentary, Out of Nothing, and Executive Produced by Dana Brown, creator of Dust to Glory and On Any Sunday: The Next Chapter. P-51 and MN8 will join Thompson, Manning and Team “7” in Australia to capture the big event for their feature-length documentary, Rockets and Titans (working title), planned for release in 2019.Thompson stunned the racing world at the 2016 Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials with a speed of 304.263 mph (489.663 km/h) piloting the Team “7” Streamliner. On only her fifth run in a streamlined motorcycle, Thompson became the first female driver in a two-wheeled vehicle over 300 mph, also earning the Fastest Time of the Meet award.Thompson is a seven land speed record holder on a variety of bikes ranging from Harley-Davidsons to BMWs and is a member of six-land speed racing 200 MPH Clubs. She is the only female in history to compete for the world’s fastest motorcycle title and breaking the current record would be her first in a purpose-built motorcycle streamliner.About Valerie Thompson Piloting the Team “7” Racing streamliner, Valerie added a new chapter to racing history at the 2016 Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials, earning the “The Fastest Time of the Meet” award with a speed of 304.263 mph (489.6 KMH). She is the first female rider over 300 mph, earning the title of “Worlds Fastest Female Motorcycle Racer.” She is a seven-time land speed record holder with membership in six different 200 MPH Clubs and is a lifetime member of the famed Bonneville 200 MPH Club. In 2017, Thompson became the first female appointed to the Bonneville 200 MPH Club Board of Directors. Valerie’s current quest to become the world’s fastest motorcycle racer is the subject of P-51 Pictures’ and MN8 Films’ upcoming feature documentary, Rockets and Titans. Her many racing accomplishments have earned Valerie the moniker of “America’s Queen of Speed” by the worldwide press. For additional information, visit Valerie Thompson Racing, or one of her social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
Honda CRF-E2 Electric + Dale Schmidtchen and the $50M V-Rod
byMotos and Friends by Ultimate Motorcycle
Hello everyone and welcome to Ultimate Motorcycling’s podcast, Motos and Friends. My name is Arthur Coldwells.
This week’s episode is brought to you by Yamaha YZF-R7. The R7 lives up to its legendary name, as a high-performance supersport machine. Check it out at at your local Yamaha dealer, or of course at YamahaMotorsports.com.
In this week’s first segment, Editor Don Williams and I chat about electric bikes and the electric bike revolution that is likely the future of motorcycling. Actually this episode is specifically about Honda’s new CRF-E2… an electric dirt-bike for kids. We asked our tester, 8-year old Avery Bart to put the E2 through its paces and according to Don, she loved it. Honda has stated that the company goal is for 50% of its sales to be electric by 2030—an ambitious goal for sure, and the CRF-E2 is the first step in that direction.
In the second segment, I chat with one of my Aussie motorcycle industry friends—Dale Schmidtchen. Dale has worked for most of the major moto factories globally during his career, and his take on his CF Moto ADV bike is interesting. Beyond that, one his many projects is currently helping to sell the world’s most expensive motorcycle—a Harley V-Rod worth around 50 million dollars. Yes, that’s 50 million with an ‘M’.
Dale also owned a race team in the 1990s and helped bring several well-known Aussie racers to the world stage. He’s a very modest, matter-of-fact guy, but I always really enjoy chatting with him; I hope you enjoy listening.
Incidentally, if you’ve got around fifty mill burning a hole in your pocket and you fancy owning the so-called ‘Mona Lisa of motorbikes’—contact us at producer@ultimatemotorcycling.com and we’ll put you in touch with Dale.
From all of us here at Ultimate Motorcycling, we hope you enjoy this episode!
