DLRA Speed Week 2005

It's a pilgrimage that any hot rodder worth his salt must make at least once in their life. In the USA it's the salt flats of Lake Bonneville in Utah that is their Mecca, here in Australia, we have Lake Gairdner. If you look on a map, you'll find it's pretty much in the middle of nowhere and about as far away as you can get from every major city in the country (except for Adelaide, but that doesn't count).

If you were doing it easy like me, with a free car supplied by Holden and with all expenses paid (courtesy of Street Machine magazine), it's a two day drive. About 150km of that is on dirt (that's about 100miles for you Seppos reading this), so if you're towing a race car, it's a pretty big ask. There's no four-lane highway taking your right to the race track, which I reckon is a good thing. It sure as shit sorts the men out from the boys!

Here's a few shots of the action and the amazing place that is the home of the Dry Lakes Racers of Australia.

 

Looks pretty flat, must be around here somewhere.

Show us a sign... and there it is. Mt Ive Station is the nearest civilisation to the lake and the owners are a big help during the course of Speed Week.

Just another 100 and something kilometres of this stuff and we should be there.

I travelled to the salt with Simon Davidson, photographer extraordinaire and all round good guy. He also drives really fast on gravel, so we were making pretty good time. He's also a Kiwi, but he sounds like an Aussie, so that makes him OK... sorta.

Bulldust.

And what do you know, a hot rod! We figured we must have been going in the right direction.

Blink and you'll miss it. Luckily Davo had been to the salt before, so he roughly knew where we were going.

Almost there.