'Like riding on the moon': Welcome to the fastest place in the world
(CNN)Nowhere on earth is more synonymous with the pursuit of speed than the legendary Bonneville Salt Flats of north-western Utah.
Less
than two hours from Salt Lake City, the Bonneville Speedway is
completely flat and hard. More records for absolute speed have been set
here than any other place on the planet.
History of record breaking speeds
Sir
Malcolm Campbell was the first person to set a World Land Speed Record
in 1935, becoming the first man to drive at over 300mph. By 1970 the
600mph barrier had been shattered.
Hamburg-based
photographer Alexandra Lier's latest project documents, over a period
of 16 years, the speed events that take place during the "dry" months
between August and October.
Every
year, devoted gear heads and adrenaline junkies from around the world
descend upon the flats to add their names to the record books with their
hot rods, streamliners, roadsters, motorcycles and "belly tankers".
Photographer Alexandra Lier
"For
me it's a homage to Salt Lake racing which I'm really passionate
about," explains Lier. "I love the people and I have a really big
respect for what they do. My pictures show the community, the cars and
the nature, and I hope people will get a feel for what it's like to be
there. For instance, the landscape is different to anything you've ever
seen -- it's like a totally different world."
"It looks like snow, but it's hot. If you walk on the salt it's crunchy, but sometimes it's dry and sometimes it's sticky."
Snow-like salt beneath this streamliner
Lier
first visited Bonneville in 1999 for Speed Week and she's been back
every year since in pursuit of the perfect picture: "It's the ideal
place. There's the variety of vehicles, the nature, plus the people who
are like family and they really appreciate my passion.
"I mostly camp there so that I can be with the competitors and fans. They have such interesting stories."
However,
photographing the Salt Flats can be a challenge: "On the one hand it's
easy because the landscape is so beautiful and the light is so good, but
when the sun is low you get a lot of shadows. Every year I go, I learn
more and more."
Racing against the elements
Seven-time motorcycle land speed record holder and drag racer Valerie Thompson started riding at Bonneville in 2006.
In 2014 she was awarded a lifetime membership of the prestigious Red Hat Club after a 208mph run on a BMW S 1000 RR.
"Bonneville
is like being on the moon, it's really a whole different world. Still,
calm, and round -- your eyes are only limited by distance," says
Thompson.
"You experience great
extremes within a single day, whether it's blazing heat, downpours that
soak the salt into mush or frigid nights that take your breath away.
It's a serene yet brutal place."
Valerie Thompson is a seven-time motorcycle land speed record holder
But what's it like to ride a bike at such phenomenal speed on the Salt Flats?
"It all begins when approaching the starting line. You start to absorb everyone's anticipation and excitement.
"But
unlike other forms of motorsport racing, Bonneville is unique. There
are no competitors in the other lane. It's only me against the elements
and the speed gods.
"As my speed
climbs, I experience deeper levels of concentration where I blank out
everything except the next 100 yards of salt ahead of my front tire.
During one of my BMW S 1000 RR 200 mph runs, it's a crazy circus of
emotions starring anxiety, unleashed excitement and pure adrenaline
performing inside my helmet.
"I have
to keep a close eye on the data dashboard and my body positioning
throughout the run to achieve optimal aerodynamics. Maintaining control
is always a challenge since there is little traction on the salt and
crosswinds can vary greatly throughout runs that vary from one to five
miles."
Big goals, little time
Thompson's
goal is to exceed 300mph and Lier's is to take the perfect picture, but
now the Bonneville Salt Flats themselves may well be in a race against
time.
Numerous land speed records in
various vehicle categories and classes have been set at Bonneville over
years, but there is no a big question mark over its future because the
Salt Flats are disappearing.
For
the past two years, muddy conditions and a lack of salt have led to the
cancellation of Speed Week, the biggest event of the season. The debate
locally is whether it's the weather or nearby mining that's depleting
the salt flats.
A century ago, the Salt
Flats spanned nearly 100,000 acres. Today they cover less than a third
of that. The race track used to be 13 miles in length -- now it is only
seven miles.
Scroll through the gallery above to see more of Alexandra Lier's stunning photographs.
The World's Fastest Place: Bonneville Land Speed Racing is published by Kehrer Verlag. Photographs by Alexandra Lier, text by Kevin Robert Thomson
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