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Bonneville/The
Summer of 2006...
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(8-10-06, an update) While I
haven't been back out to the salt flats, we haven't had any
further rains that might have an adverse effect on salt
conditions. There were some pretty strong winds Tuesday night,
but the salt as I saw it last Sunday would withstand those
winds, so we should be good to go on Saturday.
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After complaining about the
missing marker for two weeks The BLM got it back up just in time
for the Bonneville Nationals.
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***
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Crews and spectators are greeted
by another Bonneville sunrise as they head for the pits and
starting line on opening day.
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This is what the salt surface
looks like, crystalline in appearance, it actually sparkles in
the right lighting conditions.
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This map is from the SCTA
site, and shows the Speedweek layout, the area in the
"V" are the two courses, with the short course on the
right (the numbers are the available distance in miles). The
food is great, reasonably priced and cooked to order. T-shirts
sell out quickly, especially in the smaller sizes and should be
bought early. The fuel supplier, located in the "GAS"
circle has their own "gear" versions, they sell for
less and look great. On the SCTA site click on "Bonneville"
and then "Speed
Week Info" in the left menu to see some of
the rules. They are reporting "The
Salt is Hard, Dry and Smooth."
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Here's a satellite photo of the
Bonneville area (and yes, everything is that white) from the SCTA
site.
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While it's two
days before August, the month of the SCTA meet, the biggest and
busiest time of the Bonneville season, there has already been
plenty of action on the salt flats, With BAR Honda setting an
all-time speed record for F1 cars in a tightly secured,
made-for-TV event. Even before BAR Honda took to the salt, Honda
was out there with some very expensive show cars and beautiful
models, doing a photo shoot/commercial for close to two weeks.
Before that there were three private record attempts that
included a motorcycle, a NASCAR car and a "lawnmower"
that ran fast enough to have a SportsCenter moment. Record runs
are possible because there is a for-hire timing service licensed
to certify record attempts. As
far back as two months ago a couple of guys from
speedtrialsbybub, a motorcycle outfit started salt preparation
work. I started seeing a couple of trucks in the Wendover Nugget
covered with wet salt and managed to talk with one of them about
salt conditions. He reported they had 11 miles of "good
salt" the week before, but a big wind storm came through
and damaged the middle of the course. As for the "11
miles," the requirements for motorcycles, that aren't all
that heave differ somewhat, but they still need dry salt. here
is a link "BUB" site and their time dated salt
condition report:
Conditions
have changed since then, and just before the BAR Honda attempt,
thinking I would be able to cover the run I took a ride out to
the "end of the salt" to see how dry it was, and show
some friends from Poland staying with me one of the few places
in the world where you san see the curvature of the earth on
land. Here are some of the pictures:
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This picture was taken from "the
circle," the end of the 5-mile paved and straight road that provides
access to the "Bonneville Speedway." This is a spot that,
because of traffic from heavy trucks and trailers heading for the pit area
is "low" and often puddles up. The remainder of the salt surface
was very damp and sticky, with a thin water coating from recent
rains.
I was amazed to find this rarely used
road had recently been repaved and looked "fast." Many a tune-up
run has been made throughout the years with people watching from both ends
to be sure it was free of unwanted "interference." Usually I
make a tune-up check on my Mazda on the way out, assuring that there is
still 130 mph left in a 13 year-old car with 160,000 miles on it. This
time, with guests in the car, I passed on the run and it was lucky I did.
Out on "the circle," providing security for Honda, was a Utah
Highway Patrol car and trooper.
One thing that wasn't out there was the old historic marker, often
shamefully vandalized by those that had to go out of their way just to get
out there. Hopefully they'll get a new marker out there soon. Here's some
"file" photos taken from "the circle" in the past.
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Here's a winter shot showing a partial view
of the marker. Winter weather floods the flats with what becomes salt
water that won't freeze over, picture in your mind 33 sq. miles of water,
3 inches deep. In June heat and wind cause the water to evaporate and with
a lot of luck at this critical time, and no 70-mph winds provides a
baseline surface that is "worked" by several groups to grade out
as much of a course as they can. The surface is still susceptible
to the whims of nature throughout the summer, often flooded for days my
hit-or-miss rain storms. The Wendover area is often hit by wind storms
that in coastal America would cause days of warnings and evacuations. It
isn't uncommon here to see 70-80 mph winds that wreck the kind of havoc on
the salt surface that made it so dangerous and unacceptable last year.
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O/IRR reporter and forum moderator Dennis
Sylvia at the now-removed marker. The close up below shows not only the
damage but the various courses available.
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The south to north course at the bottom of
the map is the usual SCTA course, they run parallel but separated
"short" and "long" courses. The diagonal course is
what is known as the International Course. The "dents" in the
area of the mirage-like Floating Island are of course from bullets fired
by idiots. This is a close up, In a full vied just above the top of this
picture the route of the ill-fated "Donner Party," stuck for
weeks on the flooded flats and with little drinkable water for themselves
or their animals. Time lost on the flats was a contributing factor to the
demise of most of the family and companions.
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***
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Getting back to the pictures I took in
mid-July, here are my friends Paulina and Lukasz from Poland.
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And also Paulina and I.
Lukasz took the picture, I told him "there was no rush, take all the
time he needed to get it right, and to take several."
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As you can see, the surface is spotty-wet, and
since then, when returning from Florida last Wednesday along 1-80 there was
evidence of recent very heavy rains. I'll take a ride out to "the
circle" on Monday for updated pictures. Who knows, if there is no signs of
"interference," I'll shake down the Mazda on the return to Wendover
segment.
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The Mazda on "the circle" in winter,
and in the picture below, the "old" road, heading back to Wendover...
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