Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/126959
Bonneville Salt Flats (clockwise from top left) No engineering detail is ignored when Roger Goldammer is attempting to set a new record on his customized motorcycles; There are classes for every vehicle at Bonneville, from ginned-up jalopies to tricked-out trucks. But the 'streamliners' are the real stars of the show, and obviously built with one thing in mind — top velocity; Bonneville legend Skip Hedrich clocked a new land speed record of 323 m.p.h. in his American Eagle, earning him lifetime membership in an elite club of racers. (clockwise from bottom left) Salty evidence is everywhere; Steve Austin takes his BMW GSA across the lonely plain of salt on the western edge of Utah; With the Silver Island Mountains in the background, Warren Grannis works on his 1968 Karmann Ghia. Speedway she wanted to experience it for herself. In August 2011, she was able to take the plunge, driving down on the spur of the moment for one of its biggest events, SpeedWeek. After setting up camp at a hotel in nearby Wendover, she then made her way onto hallowed ground. "Driving onto the flats was intoxicating. There's the overwhelming feeling that you've landed on another planet. You have no idea where you are, and there's no markers so you just follow everybody." Navigating her way into the pits, Sache parked beside two racers and was soon experiencing the hospitality of the racing community, meeting officials, drivers, crew members and racing fans from all over the world. She also struck up a friendship with track official George Calloway. A Bonneville racer since 1954, he took the enthusiastic photographer under his wing and showed her everything: from the starting line to the timing station to the finish line. The experience was so powerful Sache now keeps in touch with Calloway on a daily basis via e-mail. The photos she took on that first trek soon appeared in a New Zealand dragracing magazine. But even more important, Sache found friends she intends to keep forever. "I've gone down to California a couple of times now, just to visit people I met on the salt. I also try and encourage others to go to Bonneville, because it's such an amazing place. Each trip down I try to stay a little longer." In fact, in 2012 she again made the pilgrimage to the flats and has already booked her hotel room for 2013. In addition to the tattoos on her arm of a camera and checkered flag, she also has some new ink – a saltshaker. (bottom l-r) Flamin' Mo Photography, Lon Anderson, Paul Sinkewicz p33-35_Utah.indd 35 Vancouver's Steve Austin is not your average motorcyclist. He travels all over North America with his 1,300 cc 2010 BMW GSA, attending rallies and looking for offroad challenges. His packing list always includes an emergency beacon and first aid kit. Case in point: last year he had three injuries, including a broken hand. In the past, Austin had his bike tuned at California's San Jose BMW, which is where he met owner Chris Hodgson and learned of the racer's Bonneville land-speed records. The connection spurred an interest in Austin, and in 2011 the 56-year-old made the trek to Bonneville to test his own skills on the hard-packed salt. "Most of the guys riding GSAs [off-road] are working on their bucket list or are in a mid-life crisis," says Austin, a self-admitted adrenalin junkie whose recent Continued on page 49 Westworld >> S U M M E r 2 0 1 3 35 13-04-18 1:40 PM