Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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P120 FEATURE I RECORD ATTEMPT AT BONNEVILLE MOTORCYCLE SPEED TRIALS up in the same way. This year is pretty good— probably the best salt we've seen in about a decade. But we haven't seen an absolute land-speed record broken here for a long time. We've had plenty of 200-mph- plus runs, but not those really big speeds. The last outright record was, I believe, when Ack Attack set its mark in 2010. We've also had weather problems. We canceled because of COVID, then had other rainouts. One year there was more than six inches of water on the salt. I flew over it in the tiniest plane imaginable and couldn't find a dry spot. When we walked out there, we found six to 10 inches of water in places. Large plates of salt had lifted and were almost floating around. It was crazy. In 2023, we were rained out again by a storm system associated with the hurricane that came off the California coast. We were all driving out here, and it rained the entire way. Last year was one of our smallest events for participation in a long time, partly because of the weather and the economy. This year we're up considerably. I think one of our strengths is the family atmosphere. That's motorcycles in general. Somebody might need a sprocket, and the person they're competing against says, "I've got a spare." You're in the middle of nowhere, so a community develops around it. That's something I've tried to build. This is a race for racers. When do you start preparing for the event, and what's involved? We usually get here on the Sunday before racing. My husband and I arrive first and try to locate the course, with the rest of the crew coming in Monday. Normally, we run two parallel courses because FIM records require runs in opposite directions. We would have a seven-and-a- half-mile international course and a five-and-three-quarter-mile basic course. This year, because of our numbers, we could justify using one track. Preparing it involves using large drags—essentially I-beam struc- tures pulled behind trucks—to level the salt. We don't cut it as much as we once did because the crust isn't as thick. We've also developed a roller that pushes the salt back together rather than cutting it. We like an event to be followed by a little rain because moisture helps the salt crystals bond together and rebuild the crust. We call it salt growth. Usually, we'll have three or four trucks pulling the drags at five to 10 mph for approximately seven miles. Our track used to be 120 feet wide. It's now 90 feet, which reduces preparation time. Years ago, we had enough salt for an 11-mile course. Now, every year is different. You have to find the best section of salt, make sure there's enough length, place the timed mile correctly, and work out where the pits can go. I've never seen the same salt twice. We have about 50 volunteers this year, which is fantastic. Normally, we're always looking for people. But racers are great. Somebody with a broken motorcycle might say, "I'll come and help," or someone who has already set their record might volunteer for the rest of the week. The days are long and the work is hard, but we get a lot of repeat volunteers. Some come to see what the event is about and end up preparing a motorcycle to race the following year. Others come as racers and then become volunteers. Those people often understand both sides best. They know what it takes to race, but they also discover what it takes to make the whole thing happen. More than 50 unpaid volunteers help make the BMST a reality.