This is what I got this morning.....
Event Update: CANCELLED
Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials 2015
AMA Land Speed Grand Championship
Presented by NGrained Inc.
Over the past year, we have all been working towards the goal of racing motorcycles at the Bonneville Salt Flats. As the event management, it is always our intent to run the premier motorcycle land speed racing event, the AMA Land Speed Grand Championship, at Bonneville. However, we are always beholden to mother nature to provide us with good conditions in the environment that we all dedicate our time and resources to.
Last year we were able to hold an event when conditions were stacked against us. This year, the conditions have been improving but not at the pace needed. We have assessed the conditions and we are unable to sustain the minimum standards for a premier event. Due to this, we are cancelling the 2015 Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials, AMA Land Speed Grand Championship.
It’s been an extremely difficult decision to make, and one we have not taken lightly. Our dedicated team has put in countless hours to evaluate the options for course layouts, the quality of the course, pit locations, salt flats on/off accessibility, course volume sustainability, and the impact on salt flats resources. Although we are cancelling, other events are still scheduled for this season. Our decision does not affect the ability for other events to proceed.
Current Course Conditions: What Changed?
Leading into this weekend, all systems were go...
Water from earlier rainstorms in most affected areas was being absorbed/evaporated at the normal rate.
Weather was warming and we had a good forecast.
Course prep was starting on the International “Long Course.”
Then things changed…
1/2 inch or more of water currently sits over the “Mountain Course” and Pit area.
We evaluated moving the course, such as last year, and could not find better conditions to support two courses or a viable alternate pit location.
Due to the volume of water that continues to persist, the normal rates of absorption/evaporation are questionable.
The International course is not ideal over the entire length and overall course quality is a concern.
The current course would deteriorate rapidly for use by 300 bikes over the 5 days of racing.
Damage to the salt from last season has not healed, including the access routes to the pit area.
What happens next?
We appreciate your patience while we sort through the details of the cancellation. We will be in touch with participants in the coming weeks with further information to answer any question that you have, and to provide further details on our cancellation procedure.
Can we Save the Salt?
There has been a lot of discussions and comments recently about the deterioration of the Bonneville Salt Flats due to human interaction, mining and the stewardship of the public land. Like many public areas, it is beloved by people for recreation, livelihood, and intrinsic beauty. As racers, we are carrying on a tradition of pushing the boundaries of human ingenuity that goes back over 100 years.
There are many factors that contribute to the conditions that we are facing this year. Regardless of the causes, we are seeing that the salt this year is not the same as years past. The traditional race courses for all of the organizations are becoming increasingly difficult to develop. In the coming weeks we will be sharing further information of how we plan to contribute to a positive future for all who use this wonderful resource, and what you can do to help.
We appreciate, and understand, all of the hours that you have dedicated to preparing your motorcycles. The sacrifices you will have made to reach for your goals throughout this year, and for our international participants, the additional logistics that you encounter to reach us.
We are working along side you as we extend ourselves to help you achieve those goals.
We thank the volunteers for their contributions, the AMA and FIM organizations and support staff. We also wish to thank our sponsors for their support of our sport.
Sincerely,
