Ack, I don't doubt that. For International records, yes, hands down.
But the advantages I see to Gairdner are these:
There is a commonality of rules between BNI and DLRA. By design, the DLRA has made it's rulebook a virtual clone of the SCTA-BNI book. Generally speaking, if you've built a vehicle to the BNI standard, tech inspection in Australia would likely be very straightforward.
The ability to make power with a normally aspirated engine at 12,000 feet at Salar de Uyuni - vs. 125 feet at Gairdner - could prove crippling. Not all of us run blowers or turbos, and a normally aspirated vehicle would likely be leaving 25% of their power on the table. Granted, the lower density would be a plus for aerodynamics, but would that be sufficient to overcome the power loss? In normally aspirated vehicles where drag coefficients can't be greatly minimized or are a function of an original design parameter, Bolivia looks iffy.
As to the creature comforts, a person would need to be willing to step out of their comfort zone for a week in order to race at Gairdner. Personally, I'm looking at this as "sooner than later" - I turn 58 in a few weeks.
Right now, you've mentioned that Mike has 8 vehicles booked for this event. It's a great, high profile showcase for the finest and the fastest in the world, and maybe that's the attraction. When Eyston and Campbell and Cobb were running in the 1930's, Bonneville was equally as exotic and unusual.
But what we have now - at least with BNI and DLRA - are racer focused operations geared toward personal bests and accomplishments, with a high degree of comradery among a relatively large number of participants. I think it's going to be a while before Salar de Uyuni will have in place that kind of an atmosphere.
For special construction vehicles pursuing international records, yeah - Bolivia. Like Eyston, Campbell and Cobb, you guys are clearly on the cutting edge with this new venue.
But a lot of us aren't at the international record level. And despite the flies, the lack of accommodations, and the need to carry in and carry out virtually everything, I think it's the participant focused nature of the events that BNI and DLRA put on that make them attractive.
In Bolivia, I think I would miss the current cultural aspect that Speedweek or WOS provides.