I had the pleasure of attending three days of the Bonneville Speed Week. It is in Utah, a very friendly ATV state. Many folks used ATVs to get around or run errands on the expansive area of the salt. Sure, there were bicycles, dirt bikes and lots of hot rods. But our ATVs are useful transportation tool also. You can carry things and pull a trailer. The course is about 7 miles long, the pits are about 3 miles from the start line, and the pits are about 3 miles long. It is a big, big area.
This is my first time at Bonneville. It is a "grass roots" motorsport for sure. I didn't see any big transporters or luxury motorhomes here; just guys working on their cars under canopies. These "hot rods" are built to a rule book and then run for a "world record". I saw lots of small block Chevy motors. It was the 70th year of the event. I think the event was started when Pontiac (the Bonneville) and others were doing endurance speed testing. And the California hot rodders were running "races" on dry lake beds and / or the beaches of Daytona, Fl. I imagine it was "my hot rod is faster than yours" top speed competition that grew on the smooth, hard salt surface way out here in Wendover, UT.
I met a fella with a Can Am Defender. Actually, it was the only Can Am I saw while here. He really enjoys the thing. It is a 1000cc rig. Lots of power he says. He is from Arizona and rides the roads to the trails in his home state. He was cussing Nevada for giving him a ticket some years ago for riding on the roads. He said now Nevada allows street legal riding if you are wearing a helmet. I don't know the Nevada laws.
I want an ATV / UTV class at Bonneville to answer the question "who has the fastest quad in the world". There are lots of motorcycle classes, so why not?
David
