Bonneville '12

[lowflyrE]

Bonneville.12.14.jpgBonneville.12.10.jpgBonneville.12.9.jpgBonneville.12.4.jpgBonneville.12.2.jpgFirst time I've been there... Some interesting stuff but unfortunately I didn't get too carried away with my camera. I mostly went to see the ’55 Healey 100 streamliner recreation from "down under". What a great bunch of folks! I stayed around to watch the first two runs with the car but don’t know if he hit the targeted 200+ mph mark today (Monday). On the first run he did do over 150. I guess there is some kind of system @ Bonneville and one has to stay between 125 & 150, then 150 & 175, and lastly the full open throttle run… But I’m no expert so don’t hold me to that. The builder/owner/driver of the Healey is a super nice guy and even let me crawl into the driver’s seat. It made the whole trip worth the effort. And lastly I drove the old GTB up to kinda blow the cobwebs out as it’s been laid up for a while. Didn't miss a beat the whole time and ran it home with the tach set @ about 5k in 5th for nearly the whole drive home. All in all it was a great weekend. Hope you enjoy the few photos I did manage to take.

[lowflyrE]

Bonneville.12.5.jpgBonneville.12.13.jpgBonneville.12.12.jpgA few more of the same... Bonneville.12.20.jpg

[a911s]

Looks like fun, I would love to go some year. Photographing a car at sunrise or sunset on the flats has always been a dream of mine.

[Chuck Miller]

All the years do'n car stuff and I've never been to Bonneville...... .....some day.....

Great pics

[deluxeco]

Gotta know...how fast did the bus run?

[lowflyrE]

Randy, I would LOVE to see you take the opportunity of doing a photo shoot out on the salt flats. You, a good photo subject, and sunrise/sunset at Bonneville… It would be absolutely fantastic!
Chuck, it would be a real privilege for me to finally meet you and Bonneville would be ideal. It is really different from any other car venue I have ever been to. All the people I met were really friendly and very helpful. I cannot encourage you enough to give it a visit at least once. It is truly worth it.
Ian, I have no idea what the bus did. It just looked cool so I snapped a shot of it. Actuually, all these photos were taken at the “short track” where the “slow cars” ran. It is “only three miles long” from what I was told. The long track had all the super schnelle machines… And it was really something to see them flying across the salt at nearly 300 mph. I should’ve taken pictures!
Perhaps it is because it is such a HUGE and potentially dangerous place that makes it so unique… Truthfully I was a bit naïve about it. I didn’t want to drive my car out on the salt, (there was a couple hundred ft of salt marsh one had to drive through before getting onto dry salt) so I parked my car at the end of the pavement and hitched a ride with some really great guys in a motor-home and drove the approximate two miles to the starting line. The pit area was another three miles past that, and I never did get anywhere close to the finish line as I think it was somewhere over in China… But I was told it was only five miles past the pits. No one goes there but the drivers… The facilities are kind of primitive having just a few porta-johns and trash cans. No shuttles to or from anywhere, no concessionaires selling food, H2O, etc. And since Windover only has one ambulance to spare, if anyone has a medical problem, the whole event shuts down until the person is considered stable. (One older gent had a bit of a heat stroke and stopped the goings-on for almost an hour). Recommendations? Bring something you don’t mind driving/riding on the salt (it gets into EVERYTHING), take lots of water, sun block, a good hat, sunglasses (it is very bright out there) and cover up as much skin as possible… Unless a person wants to look like a lobster in less than five minutes. Worth it? Heck ya!

[Alex Webster]

Steve is a great guy (the Aussie that built the Healey Steamliner) and I race against him in my 67S. He runs a Healey 3000. Great to see the pics.

[lowflyrE]

Just one more with my ugly mug...Bonneville.12.16.jpg

[cosley]

Hey, we were there. Our first time, what a trip. I would have loved to see the vw bus. Here are a couple of shots. an Escort driven up from Florida, a VW Bug w/460 h.p., a RatRod tow truck, and a real Mercedes SLR going for the 180 mph record driven by 90 yr. old John Fitch. A real mix of cars.

[lowflyrE]

Wow Harold, I'd have loved to have seen John Fitch and the Mercedes SLR run. This must have been the August event? I hear the crowd is much larger than the one in September...
Yep Alex, you are 100% correct about Mr Pike. He even gave me his commemorative "Healeys return to Bonneville" hat as a souvenir. He's a great guy indeed!