Bonneville Speed Week
The Bonneville Salt Flats cover 121sq km in Northwestern Utah and during Speed Week each year, they come to life with the sound of highly tuned engines. The salt flats were first used in 1912, but didn't become popular until the 1930s when Ab Jenkins and Sir Malcolm Campbell competed against each other to set the land speed record.
Each year the Speedway, a 10 mile long straight, is marked out during August, for Speed Week which attracts hundreds of competitors in a wide range of vehicles. They compete to set the highest speed in a range of categories.
Numerous land speed records in various categories and classes of vehicle have been set at Bonneville speedway over the years, with speeds in excess of 600mph. Our very own Bert Munro set a number of records on his Indian motorbike at Bonneville and his feats are well documented in the classic movie, "The World's Fastest Indian".
Last year there were 550 competitors and each year, as like any year, there will be quite a few kiwis competing at Bonneville in various classes. There are also thousands of support personnel and spectators taking in the action during Speed Week.
On our Bonneville Speed Week tour, we start and finish in Las Vegas and travel to Bonneville We will spend three days of Speed Week watching the action, and then visit Bryce Canyon, the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam.