TEAM 7 RACING'S VALERIE THOMPSON AND DENIS MANNING
P114
Interview
The irony is that Team 7 Racing has been told in the past that the mono-
coque carbon-fiber design of the BUB 7 streamliner wasn't safe. "We couldn't
enter Speed Week at the Bonneville Salt Flats," Thompson explained. "They
wouldn't allow our bike because it doesn't have a roll bar and 'it's not safe
enough. It doesn't qualify for our specs.' Well, maybe you should now take a
look at our specs because at 340 miles per hour I crashed it and I'm walking
away from it. What person's ever done that before?"
The Dark Side
Denis Manning has been involved in land speed racing for more than 50
years. No name is more synonymous with the quest for speed on two wheels.
In that experience comes the grave knowledge of what can go wrong in the
attempt. Only hours after the crash, as his "lucky number 7" streamliner was
Valerie Thompson
gets tucked in for
what would be the
fateful run.
"We're right there. It's at
our fingertips. We just
need a perfect world and a
perfect day.
–Valerie Thompson
The BUB 7 liner
gets out to a clean
start in the early
morning, mere
seconds before
the crash.
