Following the cancellation of Speed Week at the Bonneville Salt Flats for the last two consecutive years, it looks like the event is back on for this year.
The confirmation comes from the Southern California Timing Association’s (SCTA) website. Bill Lattin, SCTA president and race director, and Pat McDowell, Bonneville Nationals Inc (BNI) chairman wrote,
As of right now we have an 8-Mile Long Course, a 5-Mile Short Course and a 3-MileRookie Course. Course Prep is in motion and the 5-Mile & 3-Mile courses have been groomed. The SCTA is confident that the courses are all good and there is salt all the way down. We will be praying to the Race Gods and Mother Nature for their cooperation.
For the past two years, dampness and dangerously low salt levels prevented Speed Week from happening. This was due to excessive rains and mineral extraction companies diverting water away from the lake, which prevents the natural ebb and flow of the salt water to replenish the flats.
This year, the salt is back to its normal thickness thanks to a salt flat replenishing program, according to Road & Track’s Andrew del-Colle:
Over the years, the SCTA, BNI, and others have worked closely with the Bureau of Land Management and the various mine owners—Intrepid [Mining] being the most recent—to pump brine back into the flats. The program falls under a larger initiative called Save the Salt, which strives to protect the flats and return them to their original historic glory.
Speed Week is set to take place from August 13th to 19th. Let’s just hope it doesn’t get rained out, because then we’ll get to see some truly awesome cars and bikes shoot across the desert. Like this one: