The Quest For 400 mph by TOP 1 Ack Attack Team

The Quest For 400 mph by TOP 1 Ack Attack Team

In September of 2010, the TOP 1 Oil Ack Attack set a new land speed world record at the Bonneville Salt Flats—the third time this feat was achieved in the previous four years. Now, many are quick to write off Bonneville as no longer viable to provide a safe and suitable racecourse.
 
Since 2006, there have been three years with excellent conditions, three years with fair conditions, and four years with unusable conditions. Mid-October of 2013 provided a racecourse that was the best that I, along with the others in attendance, had ever seen. Unfortunately, by the time we were able to get the logistics in place wind had blown water from the mountains to the course—rendering it unusable.
 
There are serious efforts being made by various groups to attempt to restore salt to the lakebed. Hopefully conditions will improve as a result of these great efforts.
 
Bonneville will remain the only viable option in the United States of America for land speed records for vehicles that require 9-13 miles of usable track.
 
Newfoundland Basin, Utah, United States of America
The Newfoundland Basin is a 25 mile-long salt lake located to the Northwest of Bonneville, Utah. This salt lake has 15 to 18 miles of hard, smooth salt (with 1-inch thickness). In 2007, we were able to access the lake via motocross bike and complete a full east-to-west test run, where we found 11 miles of hard, smooth salt. However, use of this stretch of land for our world record attempt would require a perilous journey with many different obstacles.
 
First, there are multiple parties involved in the ownership of the land, including government and private entities, and each would require individual permission to use of their portion of the land. Also, physical access to this land for our team requires crossing of up to half a mile of thick, deep mud—and area that local bureau of land management considers to be highly dangerous as a number of people have died trying to access the lake bed.
 
Lake Gairdner, Australia
Currently, Australia is the only practical alternative to Bonneville at this time. Because the lake rests at sea level, turbocharged vehicles will have about 4% more drag than they would at Bonneville. The TOP 1 Ack Attack traveled to Lake Gairdner in 2006 to attempt to break the World Record but was not able to complete a full run due to the lack of a safe racecourse.
 
Other Options on the Radar: 
 
Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
The Largest Salt Flat in the world
100 miles long with salt up to 10 feet thick
Located 12,000 ft. above sea level
Currently not suitable for motorcycle streamliners due to constant winds of between 10-30 mph
Currently, a car club in Brazil is working with Bolivian government to run a land speed event in October 2016
 
Chott El Djerid Lake, Tunisa
Swiss Performance is working with the Tunisian Government to organize an event at the Chott El Djerid Salt Lake
Located 20 miles from the city of Tozeur with an international airport and modern hotels and services
Political unrest in the region is a concern as Tunisia is bordered by Libya and Algiers
 
Argentina
There are a number of salt lakes in Argentina suitable for land speed racing
Top choice would be Salinas Grandes – third largest salt lake in the world
Lower elevation (8,800 ft.) is easier for motorcycle streamliner to adapt to
Promising site location: Ack Attack Crew monitoring weather and wind patterns for the next few months and plan to send someone to the site later in 2016.
 
White Sands Space Harbor, New Mexico, United States of America
Former land space used by NASA for Shuttle Space Landing—over 35,000 feet in length
Land abandoned by NASA in 2011, controlled by the military and available for civilian use
Currently the runway is too short for the fastest vehicles (7 miles) however could potentially be suitable for an event like Speedweek.
 
We are excited for our quest to set a new land speed record.

This article is written by Mike Akatiff (Chief Engineer of TOP 1 Ack Attack and Chief Member of TOP 1 Oil World Record Club)
 
Source: top1oil.com

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