FEATURE
TOP OF THE WORLD LAND SPEED TRIAL
P104
Akatiff's next step was to send a scout—Mike
Cook, promoter of Speed Week events at Bonn-
eville and veteran land-speed racer. Cook made
the trek to Uyuni in April of 2017 to scout the loca-
tion, and he was nothing short of flabbergasted
by the shimmering hard-pack at his feet.
"I've been almost 40 years of racing at the
Bonneville salt flats, and I have never seen salt
this beautiful," Cook said. "The Bonneville salt
flats [are] maybe two miles wide at the most, and
maybe 10 miles [long]. But you come here and it
just takes your breath away.
"We're standing on a foot of salt! A foot thick!"
Cook said with a laugh. "I've been 300 miles an
hour on a quarter of an inch of salt!"
(Above) "The whole reason we're doing
this is for Rocky," says Mike Akatiff. Rocky
Robinson (pictured) is determined to be
the first man to "officially" go over 400
mph on two wheels. (Below) The salt at
Bonneville has worn thin in recent years,
though restoration efforts are underway.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
MIKE
COOK
