The big circle track

[Malcolm UK]

Will we ever see, or would racers want to see, the ten mile circle track dragged on the Bonneville salt for endurance attempts?  Seems that there is International interest in endurance attempts replicating and exceeding the records achieved at Bonneville in the 50's. 

[jackson]

How much good salt is there to run a circle?  It hasn't seemed like there was that much usable surface for many years.

[JackD]

The 10 mile circle cannot be accomodated on the surface as it exists today because of the reduction in suitable area. 

[interested bystander]

Speaking WAY ou there in ignorance-ville, Does it have to be a ten mile circle for FIA recognition?

And what distance could the current salt bed contain? Maybe with an OVAL with large diameter, well defined corners?

[Glen]

The 10 mile was always run at the north end down by floating mountain. The big trench at that end has mined  the salt away.What is there is very thin or mud. Anything trying to run on it would erode it even more. There really isn't any place to put in a 10 mile circle without crossing the straight away course that are also pretty thin in some areas. I don't think there is room for an oval or what the FIA rules are but seems like Foyt ran on a paved oval with the olds car.

[JackD]

Speaking WAY ou there in ignorance-ville, Does it have to be a ten mile circle for FIA recognition?

And what distance could the current salt bed contain? Maybe with an OVAL with large diameter, well defined corners?

The record is for distance over time and does not have to be a closed loop, only a verifiable distance.
Of cource a closed loop is easier to survey and manage.
Constant radius is best and a banked surface is the easiest on the vehicle.
I officiated a number of period record sessions for both FIA and FIM on race and test tracks.
One of the best is the Laredo proving grounds circle that banks steeper the higher you go up.
There are a number of others.
Their is no place left on the salt area that is used today that would be suitable for the repeated traffic that it would have to support for even a 1 hour attempt.

Foyt ran a modified March Indy car at Texas World Speedway in College Station, Texas.
He ran in the big oval that would not be the best for longer timed events.

[fredvance]

Honda ran some 24hr endurance tests in'86 and I believe it was at the Firestone test track in Ft Stockton Tx. I think it was a 10mi oval.

[JackD]

Honda ran some 24hr endurance tests in'86 and I believe it was at the Firestone test track in Ft Stockton Tx. I think it was a 10mi oval.

I was the FIM steward for those and at the time it was owned by Uni Royal., and called the Laredo Test Center.
Mike McCarty ran my timers, and Bob Higbee recorded the service stops and rider changes.
They set a number of "Period " World records and eclipsed the marks that were set the year before by Cycle World mag with Suzuki bikes at the same track.
The International rules made no distinction between a full race and a stockier.
At the conclusion of the event, they rode the principal bike and a backup all the way back to their shops in LA , and tore the record bike down to record the wear after running all that distance under those conditions.
They were immaculate.
Small World huh ?

[Dynoroom]

Speaking WAY ou there in ignorance-ville, Does it have to be a ten mile circle for FIA recognition?

And what distance could the current salt bed contain? Maybe with an OVAL with large diameter, well defined corners?

Foyt ran a modified March Indy car at Texas World Speedway in College Station, Texas.
He ran in the big oval that would not be the best for longer timed events.

I think Foyt ran the Aerotech at Fort Stcoktons 7.7 mile oval. That is where he put his 2 way pass together to gain entry into the 200 MPH club if I remember correctly.

[Robin UK]

Just read that Dutchman Wiet Huidekoper is recreating the 1954 Healey SPL227B endurance car and the SPL261-BN streamliner using original parts (most of both cars rotted away because of salt damage -it says here) and some of Geoff Healey's drawings. Marsh Classic Cars in Victoria, Australia are building the cars. They say they are heading for Bonneville when the cars are finished so that's at least one candidate for a recreated big circle track. They probably just mean straight runs though.

Robin

[JackD]

The Fort Stockton site was the final location for the FIA records.
The grade change from the turns allowed a downhill run at the mile and kilo straight from both directions.
While it was a FIA record, it was not particularly fast by LSR standards.