BARONE'S C&CM

Valerie Thompson is a woman after my own heart. At the age of 32, the Tacoma, Washington, native bought a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, and the world would never be the same. A need for speed propelled her into the world of motorcycle drag racing. Suddenly comfortable at over 200 mph, she pushed further into Land Speed Record attempts. In March of 2018 at the age of 51, she became the world’s fastest woman on two-wheels by going 328 mph in a motorcycle streamliner. Only days later she had a horrific crash at 363 mph, sliding for nearly a mile on an Australian dry lake bed, but luckily walked away. This March, she’ll be returning to Lake Gairdner in Southern Australia to attempt new speed records on four wheels piloting the Treit & Davenport Target 550 Streamliner at two premier land speed racing events. Her goals include breaking the 415.867 mph class World record for a four-wheel blown fuel streamliner powered by a piston engine. As a woman in the predominantly male-...

Last August, I had the great pleasure to meet Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Chief Judge Emeritus Ed Gilbertson. Ed has been involved in the classic car and motorcycle hobby for over 40 years, and still serves on the very prestigious Pebble Beach Concours Selection Committee. He also serves as the Chief Judge Emeritus for the Palm Beach Cavallino Classic and the Ferrari Club of America, as well as having been the Chief Judge for the Legend of the Motorcycle International Concours. To say he knows his stuff is an understatement. When Ed began judging the Ferrari Club of America Concours in 1985, he found the judging criteria inconsistent from meet to meet. That led to the adoption of scoring sheets and the 100-point system, a formal standard he continues to champion as Chairman of his group the International Chief Judge Advisory Group ( icjag.org ). For those not familiar with concours protocol, the judging duties are usually split between Chief Judges and Class Judges. Th...