Land Speed Racer First Female Member Colorado Mile 200 MPH Club

Last Update: 31 August 2024

Seven-time land speed record holder Valerie Thompson joins Colorado Mile 200 MPH Club, during the clubs inaugural land speed competition for 2015. This makes her the clubs first female member. She clocked a top speed pass of 201.2 mph on her Quicksilver Powersports Lubricants/CTEK sponsored BMW after 11 runs over the two-day event. Thompson premiered an Iron Horse Motorcycles prepared motorcycle with an all-new hand built racing engine provided by BMW Motorrad, the first of its kind to see competition in the United States.

The Colorado Mile, presented by US Mile Racing, is a new competition for the 2015 land speed racing schedule. The event is held at Front Range Airport in Watkins and is Colorado’s first one-mile speed event. US Mile Racing also hosts the Texas Mile where Thompson dominated in 2014 with a personal best speed of 217.7 mph.

Thompson made a total of 11 runs on the one-mile course during the two-day speed festival, taking special care to break-in the custom built BMW racing engine and all-new high performance exhaust system. Denver’s high attitude provided its typical challenges thrown at every racing team manager and tuner.

“Valerie is a true champion and fierce competitor, so we decided to provide her with a S 1000 RR Stage 3 HP Race engine, specifically the ‘Power Motor’ variant. This is the first time we have imported a Stage 3 engine to the US from the BMW HP race shop in Munich. Producing 215 hp from 999 cc, it’s the same engine specification BMW Motorrad offers teams participating in the FIM WSBK series,” said Mike Hernandez, Manager BMW Motorrad Parts and Accessories.

“This was our first competition after several months of event cancellations at Bonneville. In addition to the BMW engine, we were testing a new Akrapovic exhaust system and other new equipment,” said Thompson. “The 8300 foot elevation near Denver is much higher than where we normally compete, so we knew optimal performance would be a real challenge. Despite that handicap, we learned a lot and I know the Quicksilver Powersports Lubricants BMW will go much faster at other venues. I’m very excited about our next race on the salt,” adds Thompson.

For additional information, visit usmileracing.com and landspeedevents.com.

Valerie Thompson’s Background

Valerie is a seven-time land speed record holder and owner/driver of the Valerie Thompson Land Speed Racing Motorcycle Team who has also competed in the All Harley Drag Racing Association and National Hot Rod Association drag racing series. She set a personal best top speed of 217 mph on her BMW S 1000 RR during the October 2014 Texas Mile competition. Thompson is an official member of the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials 201 MPH Club (formerly BUB Speed Trials), Mojave Magnum 200 MPH Club, ECTA 200 MPH Club, Texas Mile 200 MPH Club, Colorado Mile 200 MPH Club and lifetime member of the famed Bonneville 200 MPH Club.

*Source Valerie Thompson Press Release

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