American motorcycle drag and land speed racer Valerie Thompson will be inducted into the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum and 2018 Hall of Fame during the 78th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota, USA.
At the 2016 Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials, Thompson took the world by surprise by clocking a speed of 489.6kmph in the BUB 7 Motorcycle Streamliner. It was just her fifth run on a streamlined motorcycle when she became the world’s first female to ride a two-wheeled vehicle at a speed of over 482kmph. The Team 7 Racing motorcycle was propelled by a thunderous 3000cc, turbo-charged V4 engine fitted in a carbon monocoque frame and producing 493bhp. The BUB 7 also uses three parachutes along with six-piston caliper brakes for slowing down from such high speeds.
Earlier this year, Thompson entered the history books by setting a new land speed record of 528.6kmph during the DRLA Speed Week competition at Lake Gairdner in Australia. She even survived a 584kmph crash during the World Speed Trials. The female motorcycle racer holds a total of eight land speed records on a variety of bikes ranging from Harley-Davidsons to BMWs to Streamliners and is the only female in history to compete for the World’s Fastest Motorcycle title.
Read our conversation with the World’s fastest female motorcycle racer here
On her induction into the hall of fame, Valerie Thompson said “It’s impossible to put into words how much this honour means to me. Looking over the list of Sturgis Hall of Famers is like a family reunion invitation list. I see friends, mentors, fellow competitors and legends dedicated to racing and promoting the sport each of us loves so much. I don’t think I would be here today if not for Jesse Jurrens, owner of Legend Suspensions. He lured me from drag racing to my first competition at Bonneville in 2005. So, I blame him for my salt addiction. I also set my first land speed record on fellow Hall of Famer Keith Ball’s Bikernet.com Harley-Davidson,”
The Sturgis Motorcycle Hall of Fame class of 2018 will also see other inductees like Jeff Decker, Jack Hoel, Armondo “Mondo” Porras, Marilyn Stemp and Hamsters USA. The ceremony will be held on August 8 at The Lodge in Deadwood, South Dakota.