Scottsdale racer survives 344 mph motorcycle crash during record try

PHOENIX — A Scottsdale racer trying to break a world speed mark walked away from a 344 mph crash on her motorcycle this week in Australia.

Valerie Thompson had already set a women’s record of 328 mph at the annual Dry Lakes Racers Australia Speed Week at Lake Gairdner.

She tweeted about the Monday wreck at the salt flats, grateful to be alive and suffering only minor injuries.

Our trip to Australia had a wonderful begining & a rather tragic end. We set a new record of 328.467 mph during the @DryLakesRacersA event and became a new member in their 200 & 300 MPH Clubs. Unfortunately had a crash at 344 mph. Due to superior design I was able to walk away! pic.twitter.com/BjAj7PscWG

— Valerie Thompson (@ValerieThompson) March 20, 2018

The racing group’s Facebook post called the accident a “stunning wreck.”

Thompson, nicknamed “America’s Queen of Speed,” attributed her survival to the construction of the Team 7 motorcycle streamliner.

She set a previous record of 304.263 mph on her “Bub7” in 2016 at the Bonneville Speed Trials.

The Facebook post reported that the trouble began when Thompson’s racer reached the four-mile mark at 299 mph. The racer suddenly went onto its side.

Vehicles trailing the streamliner said the tail went into the air but the parachute deployed. The slide left nearly a mile of trench and wreckage in its wake.

The area was repaired in time for the next day’s races.

Thompson, a seven-time motorcycle land-speed record holder, said in a post that she couldn’t wait to get back to Australia “to return to our favorite dry lakes down under.”

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