After being a tentative “go” for racing last week, the 2015 Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials has now been canceled because of conditions on the Bonneville Salt Flats.
The announcement comes after rains in the Salt Lake City, Utah area put water on the salt flat racing course, and now currently half an inch of water sits on what the BMST calls its “Mountain Course” area.
With the salt not likely to dry as quickly as normal, BMST officials couldn’t find a suitable place to relocate the Mountain Course, and in addition to that problem the international “Long Course” was not ideal over its entire length, with its quality a concern for BMST officials as well.
Making matters worse, damage from the 2014 Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials has yet to heal on the salt flats, making it unlikely that the salt conditions would support a race week with 300+ motorcycles.
All of these issues have caused the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials officials to cancel the 2015 event. Though, the team is quick to point-out that other events at Bonneville may still be held this year.
This has been a tough season for motorcyclists looking to race at the Bonneville Salt Flats, as now both the Bonneville Speed Week and Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials events have been cancelled because of salt conditions.
The Bonneville Salt Flats are increasingly becoming a more difficult place to host land speed record events, due to a combination of mining, weather, and usage. Accordingly, it’s long-term viability are in question.
Hopefully something can be done to secure this iconic venue’s long-term security, so racers and the general public can enjoy it in perpetuity.
Source: Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials
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