Pure speed enthusiasts, numerous in the USA, will unfortunately not be able to try to improve their best performances this year and the Salt Lake of Utah will remain silent this summer due to the cancellation of this original and prestigious meeting.
“Faced with the international impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, the FIM, the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and local organizer Delicate Promotions LTT regret to announce the cancellation of the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials (BMST) 2020 scheduled to take place at Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah (USA) from August 29 to September 3 » has just announced the official press release from the organizers of the event.
This lake in Utah in the United States is on the border with Nevada. Pure speed enthusiasts began going there in 1912.
Since 1935, Bonneville has been a major site for speed record attempts. Most of these records were set between 1935 and 1970. Before 1935, it was on beaches – like Daytona Beach – that records were often broken.
The immense flat expanses of the Salt Lake are perfect for riding at high speed. The area was formed during the last ice age, when a huge lake dried up, leaving behind mineral deposits. Each summer, the salt crust hardens again after winter rains, leaving a fast surface perfect for setting speed records.
Yet torrential rains and cooler temperatures in recent years have led to the cancellation of many events. The US Geological Survey estimates that the salt crust has thinned by almost half a meter because of these phenomena.
The first speed record at Bonneville was set by Malcolm Campbell and his famous Bluebird in 1935 with a speed measured at 480 km/h. Even today, after 104 years of records, the Bonneville Salt Lake remains a world reference.
American Rocky Robinson broke the motorcycle land speed record aboard his Top Oil-Ack Attack on September 25, 2010. Robinson reached an average speed of 605,697 km/h (376,363 miles/h) round trip on a kilometer launched in Bonneville.
