Bonneville Land Speed Record by Alastair Gibson

Productive day collecting the truck rental, the U-Haul trailer and BMW LSR (Land Speed Racer) in Salt Lake City.

Had a quick stop at The Home Depot to buy some essentials-tent for the sun, nails to hammer the worksheet onto the salt, battery for the fuel chiller, buckets for ice and a fire extinguisher.

We are now in Wendover in the Motel 6 where we will stay for 8 days.

Had a quick visit to the salt at the end of the boat ramp, it looks a lot dirtier than I imagined, probably because of the rain last year.

A big thanks to Global Logistics Management for getting the bike from Brackley to SLC without a hitch.

Setup day on the salt flats today. Really cool day, overcast and slight wind.

Everything ok in flight box, no damage at all...prepared bike for scrutineering and passed with flying colours- see red sticker on fork housing. Decided to run on leaded 110 octane for start tomorrow- never run this type of fuel before but really interested to see how it goes.

Predicted strong winds for tomorrow morning and no rain so we’ll try and get a run in before 12 o’clock to see if everything works. Really happy to be back on the Bonneville Salt Flats, it’s a good feeling and I’m very confident.

25 August- First Run

Fantastic day, achieved a long awaited goal on the Bonneville Salt Flats…First run on the 5-mile mountain course- 100.843 mph (just feeling out the bike, no big push).

Qualified for a return run on the 500 MVF record - 95.461 mph which gives me a record for my class  at 98.152 mph, beating the previous record by 11.31 mph!

My hope is to attempt the same record tomorrow with a couple of tweaks on the bike, leaning out the engine from 110 main jets to 100. I’ve also added an aero gurney to my leathers to help the air detach—this should also help. 

Some rain fell this evening over Wendover, don’t really know if it’s affected the salt, but we’ll know once we go out in the morning. The two runs were stable and the bike behaved very well over the small bumps. 

The groovy purple colour fuel is Sunoco 110 octane Leaded that we cool down to 12deg C with my a fuel chiller I made especially for Bonneville.

My confidence has grown and hopefully I can improve on my record. 

26 August- A Record Breaking Run

“Best day today…managed to get a ribbon the international course and upped my record to 106.812 mph.

Return run on international course as well, 108.153 mph, for an average of 107.482 mph. The international course was very difficult to ride due to the bigger motorcycles which use it, leaving ruts in the salt but I managed to keep the throttle wide open throughout the run—a bit scary.

Tomorrow we have changed our strategy and will run for another record in the MPS/VF category. This is modified partial streamlined vintage fuel.

We’re going to try to get out there very early to be one of the first runners in the cool dense air, and I am looking forward to being back on the mountain course, which is a lot smoother and better for my bike.

Weather was fantastic today, no wind, and not a cloud in the sky.

27 August- Big Speeds

As we said in our last update, today we devoted our runs to the Modified Partial Streamlining by fitting an Aprilia fairing. 

The first record we attempted this morning was the 500 MPS VF and we had a fantastic first run of a 113.813 mph on the five mile mountain course. We backed it up within an hour at 111.402 mph, giving us the record at 112.607 mph. 

Then in the afternoon we decided to set a record in the 500 MPS VG (Vintage Gasoline) class-this is the stock fuel of the event so my tank was sealed with ten litres of this fuel. 

On the first run I only managed 101.351 mph due to a clutch slipping however I adjusted it between runs in the impound to make a return run of 110.305 mph, meaning we set the VG record at 105.828 mph! 

A very interesting day, just looking at the push rods clearances at lunch time and giving the bike a salt clean. We also adjusted the clutch that I have been slipping to get the correct RPM for launch. 

Tomorrow in the morning we will set the bike back to our original start configuration- 500 MVF, to try and up that record by a couple of miles per hour and put that one to bed. 

Really really hot today with absolutely no wind, and some big speeds by other competitors being achieved.

28 August-Leaving A Three Time Record Holder

Today we completed our 2024 visit to the Bonneville Salt Flats with our last run on the international course. The run was very good but the salt was very very wet and a little bit dangerous, so I decided not to back it up and that was it. 

We then went to tech and had the engine inspected and verified which all went very well and I’m provisionally a three time record holder at the Bonneville Salt Flats!! I will share the exact records and the exact speeds on my next update.

At supper this evening, we compiled some stats for our week on the salt:

- Racing miles: 58

- ⁠Scarability factor for salt conditions: 7.5/10

- ⁠Visits to the Honey Bucket: 10

- ⁠Milage by support vehicle: 90

- ⁠Bottles of Smart Water consumed: 120

- ⁠Kilograms of ice each day (for ice chiller and cooler box): 12

- ⁠Number of pit rebuilds due to high winds and rain: 2

- ⁠Number of times the Motel 6 key card broke: 12+

- ⁠Number of motorsport trivia stories told by Robert and Graeme: 125

- ⁠Number of times we were corrected by Americans on the pronunciation of the word “aluminium”: 27

- ⁠Number of drone flights: 9

- ⁠Number of British humour faux pas: 28

- ⁠Number of Starbucks Rewards stars earned: 739

…to name just a few.

Tomorrow we will pack our Swan Flight box and in the evening attend the prize giving banquet at the Wendover Historic Airport.

Final Run Records;

500 MV-F

GIBSON, A 1938 BMW R51, 107.482 MPH, RECORD BROKEN BY 20.640 MPH

500 MPS-VF

GIBSON, A 1938 BMW R51, 112.714 MPH, RECORD BROKEN BY 20.396 MPH

500 MPS-VG

GIBSON A, 1938 BMW R51, 105.828 MPH, RECORD SET AT 105.828 MPH