Bonneville – the full-throttle gearhead mecca. Since 1914, this stretch of flat, empty desert in northwestern Utah has been the venue of choice for countless top-speed runs. Every year, five major land-speed events take place here. Unfortunately, it was recently announced that one of those events, Speed Week, traditionally held every August, has been canceled due to weather conditions and concerns over the poor quality of the salt surface.
This is the second year in a row the event has been canceled, with last year’s event called off due to ankle-deep flooding caused by monsoon storms.
The Southern California Timing Association (SCTA), the organization responsible for organizing and running the event, posted to their Facebook page that recent precipitation left only 2.25 miles of “salt suitable for a safe race course.” The rest of the lakebed is either too wet or muddy.
To run a “short course,” the SCTA requires at least 4 miles of dry salt (preferably 4.5 miles). Ideally, a 7-mile course is used.
Organizers gauge conditions on salt length, thickness and purity when it comes to picking the best stretches for high-speed runs.
Speed Week is one of the biggest racing events of the year for Bonneville, attracting between 10,000 and 15,000 spectators and hundreds of race teams from around the world, eager to set new top-speed records. The event has been ongoing for over six decades, with only the occasional cancelation due to weather. Before seeing the cancellation in 2014, the event was last canceled due to weather in the ‘90s. It’s reported that more than 500 individual vehicles were registered for this year’s event.
The SCTA says that if the wet spots dry out, future events could be possible. For the time being, the World Finals race, scheduled to run from September 29th to October 2nd, is still a go.
To make up for the canceled Speed Week, race organizers could extend the October event, or possibly relocate to another appropriate venue, although details are not currently available.
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