VOL. 54 ISSUE 30 AUGUST 1, 2017 P103
Bonneville Speedway. The salt
is also far thicker, up to 10 feet
compared to less than an inch at
Bonneville.
The far-flung "Salar de Uyuni"
has been on Akatiff's radar for
more than 10 years, but logistics
had always been an issue. "We
thought about going to Bolivia in
2006, but at that time it wasn't
practical," said Akatiff. "The
only way to get to the salt lake
was through what was called
'the road of death.' There was
no airport at the town of Uyuni.
It was pretty hard to get there
and get anything done. Since
that time, things have changed
tremendously."
It was thanks to another
motorsports event—the Dakar
Rally—that Uyuni got itself on
the map. The Dakar Rally first
visited the small Bolivian town
in 2015, with the course taking
racers across the treacherous
salt. Uyuni is now a fixture in
the Dakar, which has helped
bring roads, hotels and even an
airport to the otherwise remote
town.
"There's a paved road from La
Paz all the way to Uyuni now,"
Akatiff said. "It looked pretty
promising."
The Quest For Salt
