After a five-year hiatus, FIM Land Speed Racing returned to the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia. In a tumultuous week filled with heartbreak, frustration, disaster and unexpected twists of fate, two new FIM World Records were set on the world’s biggest salt flat.
Words and Photography by Jean Turner
C.S. Lewis said, “Adventures are never fun when you’re having them.” And he might have been talking about land-speed racing in Bolivia. Packing up a World Championship event and hauling it to the Andean plateau in the middle of South America is no small task. Simply getting to the starting line of the 15-mile salt surface is more than half the battle, and by then, the war has only just begun. Limited resources, blistering cold, searing altitude and electrical gremlins that only seem to crop up on the Salar continue to wage war on progress, but in the end, there simply is no substitute for the perfect track to aim for world-record speed.
It’s the call of the rock-solid 15-mile track that brought Mike Akatiff and the Top 1 Oil-backed Ack Attack team, and Al Lamb’s Dallas Honda team back to the Salar five years after the last FIM Land Speed World Records event took place in Bolivia. After attempts in both 2017 and 2018, these two teams were still seeking major milestones, for the Ack Attack streamliner, the 400-mph barrier and the outright two-wheel land speed World record, and for Lamb and his turbocharged CBR1000RR, the 300-mph barrier to become the world’s fastest sit-on motorcycle.
Joining the 2023 competition were Scott Horner, Jamie Williams and Mike Garcia of the U.S., Richard Assen of Australia and four-wheel competitor Jim Knapp (the 2023 event was co-sanctioned by FIA).
After a week of shipping delays, sub-zero temperatures wreaking havoc on machinery, electrical complications, windy conditions, blown engines, rental car failures, radio issues, and a harrowing high-speed crash, it seemed the odds were firmly stacked against racers at the 2023 Top 1 Oil Top of the World Shootout. But true to form, the competitors took it down to the wire, and on the final day of the six-day event, two FIM Land Speed World Records fell.
Passing The Torch
The first day of competition was slated for Wednesday, August 16, but on account of the containers not arriving until Thursday afternoon, tech inspections not completing until Friday morning, and windy conditions through the afternoon, the first pass on the salt didn’t take place until Saturday. As luck would have it, the very first attempt ended in disaster, as Richard Assen came off his hand-built turbocharged Hayabusa at an estimated 240 mph just before reaching the timed mile.
“It was a simple fact of too much wheelspin, and combined with a crosswind, pushed the rear end out,” Assen said. “I was pushing the bike hard, as it was running like a dream. I felt it go, but it was too late, and the excess wheelspin caused the tire to fail.”
The wreck was spectacular and sent the machine that Assen spent over 10 years building into a debris field of nearly a half mile.
“At the start of the debris field, there were pieces of rubber from the tire,” said Assen. “Once the tire let go, it was out-of-control tank-slapper and bang down onto left-hand side before cartwheeling down the track.”
Fortunately, Assen fared relatively well in the crash, suffering injuries mainly to his foot along with some broken fingers. “I did look down at my left foot, wiggling my toes, watching the tendon and bone move through a hole in the side of the boot,” said Assen.
The accident prompted the first time the FIM event has needed to employ emergency services on the Salar de Uyuni, a true test of Bolivia medical response.
“This is the third land speed event we’ve had here in Bolivia, and the first time we have had to activate our local medical team,” said FIM Referee Ralph Bohnhorst. “We are pleased at the response time and efficiency of everyone involved and want to say thank you for the quick professional teamwork of all.”
It wasn’t easy for competitors to move forward with the event after the sobering incident, especially for Mike Garcia, who was running in the same category, up against Assen’s own FIM World Record that had stood for 12 years.
Over the next two days, Garcia and his Garcia Sims Racing team, with the backing of Dallas Honda, worked to tune in his partially streamlined 1350cc turbocharged Hayabusa in an effort to reach Assen’s 261-mph record. Garcia had struggled to push past the 250-mph barrier for years but was finally able to find the added speed on the Bolivian racetrack.
But even with the perfect track and the perfect bike, the job wasn’t done. Rental car complications meant the team was missing the support vehicle needed to shuttle the motorcycle to and from the racecourse. As luck would have it, the only other option was Assen’s crew, and the Aussies were more than willing to help. Through the cooperation of Kelvin Brown and Steve McGrath, the Garcia Sims Racing team had the final missing piece they needed to set a new FIM World Record of 265 mph on the final day of the event.
“I can’t even put it into words. Richard told those guys to tell me to go for it and good luck,” said an emotional Garcia. “His crew became my crew today. They towed our vehicle down, couldn’t have done it without them. I just can’t thank him enough and I wish he was here. I’m glad he’s okay. I was talking to him in my head on both runs. I don’t think I could have done it without him sitting on my shoulder. I can’t even put it into words.”
It was a bittersweet moment for Assen’s crew, but McGrath and Brown didn’t report any mixed emotions. “Today was a lesson in sportsmanship,” said Brown. “Mike couldn’t believe that we were helping him break our mate’s record, but that’s sportsmanship. If the guy’s got a good enough bike to do it, it’s his record. It doesn’t matter whether we’re friends with who or what. He got the bike, he tried four times and he got close, and he tried one last time and he got it. That was a very emotional thing to watch. They were bawling their eyes out when it happened. That’s sportsmanship. You don’t see enough of that anymore.”
Assen sent his congratulations from his hospital bed in Cochabamba. “All I can say is I can totally relate to his emotions as mine were very similar in 2011 when I initially set the record,” said Assen. “Congratulations to Mike and Erin (Garcias’ wife)—he deserves it and I am so happy such a good man got the record.”
“Come get it back, Richard,” Garcia replied.
The Turbine Bullet
The first record of the meet went to Jamie Williams, a seasoned veteran of land-speed racing but a first-time competitor on the Salar. Williams brought several machines with him to Bolivia: a four-wheel streamliner, a turbine-powered superbike and turbocharged Hayabusa-powered snowmobile (yes, there is an FIM class for that). Only after blowing up both his streamliner and snowmobile did Williams turn to his MTT 420RR motorcycle to make a record attempt.
“It’s a good thing I brought a lot of bullets,” joked Williams of his container full of race machines.
On the final day of the competition, Williams made his first pass on the 420-horsepower turbine-powered MTT superbike. Racing against an open record, any speed would qualify, and Williams set a (relatively) modest 134 mph (216 km/h) down run and backed it up with a 127 mph (204 km/h) return run for a new FIM World Record.
Of course, a 420-horsepower motorcycle has more to give, but as it was his first ride aboard the MTT, Williams discovered an override that would cut the engine power at a certain rpm. As a result, he coasted through the timed mile on each run. “The gearing needs to be changed so it can maximize the throttle position,” Williams explained. “Because once it goes over a certain rpm, the whole system shuts down. It’s a little bit of going through the motions. It’s what it’s all about. I’ve never had a turbine bike before; it’s pretty cool.”
The team made some modifications to the gearing of the MTT to put in one more run on the Salar. At literally the last minute of the event (6:14 and 45 seconds up against a hard 6:15 p.m. course closure), the turbine-powered superbike made one last pass, this time at 180 mph. But without any daylight remaining on the final day of the event, the team was unable to make a return run to bump up their own record.
“I guess the numbers are the numbers,” Williams said matter-of-factly. “It’s a start.”
As for his first experience racing on the Salar, Williams says he’s hooked. “Hopefully, we’ll be back here again. I’ll probably bring a turbine [stream]liner next year. No water—nothing to freeze, and mess things up, right? It’s all good stuff. I love it. It’s quite an adventure.” CN
Why Bolivia?
When it comes to the “great white dyno” that land speed racers seek, the Salar de Uyuni is the ultimate proving ground, and for some, the only suitable one. Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats, the historic home of land-speed racing, lacks the appeal it once had, as its surface has become compromised due to mining, as well as by increasingly erratic weather. The salt crust has been reduced to inches in many places, and it is rare to find a suitable racetrack longer than 10 miles across its 46 square miles anymore. Storms have now forced the cancelation of Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials (BMST), the only FIM Land Speed World Records event in North America, for two years in a row.
On the other hand, size is no issue for the massive Bolivian Salar de Uyuni. At 4000 square miles, the Salar is half the size of Massachusetts, and during the winter season (our summer), has a rock-solid surface up to 30 feet thick. Coming up with a 15-mile track is hardly a challenge, but the Salar comes with a different set of difficulties, not least of which is the altitude. A searing altitude of 12,000 feet makes it hard for engines (and humans) to breathe, although the tradeoff is improved aero with less atmosphere to push through. Winter temperatures on the Bolivian Altiplano plunge into sub-zero temperatures every night, presenting more challenges for race equipment, but if you can fight the freeze, the tradeoff is cooler running temperatures.
The biggest challenge presented by the largest salt flat in the world is its remote location. Traveling to and from the Salar de Uyuni is a task in itself—throw in several freight containers being shipped to Chile and trucked over the Andes into Bolivia, and you have yourself a logistical nightmare that land-speed competitors such as Mike Akatiff and Al Lamb have yet to fully resolve. Still, the allure of the Salar, and the prospect of the last remaining natural surface capable of allowing two-wheel speeds of 300 and 400 miles per hour has the world’s best coming back time and again.
“If you want to come to the best land speed track in the world, this is the best place to be, by far,” commented Richard Assen of Australia. “You got 15 miles—you never get 15 miles on any track anymore. Anywhere in the world. The opportunity to come here is great. It’s fantastic.”
And yes, there is already talk of a 2024 Bolivia land speed event. CN
Click here to read the Top Of The World Land Speed Shootout in the Cycle News Digital Edition Magazine.
