Valerie Thompson, seven-time land speed record holder and one of the world’s fastest BMW racers, returned to Beeville Texas October 24 - 26 for this year’s second Texas Mile top speed competition. Thompson broke her personal best top speed of 212 mph, set at the March 2013 Texas Mile, with a blistering run of 217.7 mph on her record-setting CTEK Battery Charger sponsored BMW S 1000 RR.
The Texas Mile is a bi-annual motorsports festival created in 2003 for high-performance vehicle enthusiasts, welcoming a wide variety of racing vehicles, including race cars, modified street cars, land speed racers and motorcycles. Event organizers claim it is the fastest and most challenging 1-mile track in the world. The October event set a new record in number of competitor entries and spectators.
Thompson made seven runs during the three-day extravaganza of speed, each over 200 mph, making her one of two females with a best top speed on a motorcycle. This is Thompson’s last motorcycle competition of the year, but will race a land speed racecar with The Maxx2Racing Team at the Mojave Air and Space Port Runway ‘Invitation Only’ event on November 1.
“We’ve enjoyed a successful year thanks to my sponsors and team members. We had to do a complete bike inspection at Go AZ Motorcycles after setting a new record at Bonneville, so we had a real thrash just to make this event. I thank Kerry Alter for his awesome tune ups and my crew chief, Ray Garcia, for making all the right calls at the track,” said a smiling Thompson. “Our goal was to go 215, so I’m delighted by our results. We added Magic Bullet to our fuel which I know really helped our performance,” added Thompson.
This was Thompson’s third time racing at the Texas Mile and according to her, “it just gets better and better.” Thompson’s CTEK Battery Charger sponsored team provided free battery maintenance services for competitors and event attendees throughout the three-day speed festival.
Valerie Thompson 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 is often referred to as “America’s Queen of Speed.” Thompson set a personal best top speed of 217 mph on her BMW S 1000 RR during the October 2014 Texas Mile speed competition. Valerie is an official member of the BUB Speed Trials 201 MPH Club, Mojave Magnum 200 MPH Club, ECTA 200 MPH Club, Texas Mile 200 MPH Club and the famed Bonneville 200 MPH Club.
Texas Mile Background
This bi-annual Motorsports Festival is created for high-performance vehicle enthusiasts, welcoming motorcycles, performance streetcars, racecars and land speed racers. The Texas Mile has grown rapidly since its inaugural event in October 2003. Participants come from all over the US, Canada and Mexico to test themselves and their motorized equipment on the fastest and most challenging 1-mile track in the world. They achieve their top speed on a 1-mile course and with a shut-down area measuring a half-mile.