Speedsters put the record straight at salt lake race city

There’s no other place to go. If you are looking to break a land speed record in car, motorbike or truck, the expansive salt flats at Lake Gairdner is the place to be.

Located 450 kilometres north-west of Adelaide, the site is 160 kilometres long and 48 kilometres across, with salt over a metre thick. It’s an endorheic lake, which means it isn’t connected and doesn’t run out to the sea.

Lake Gairdner, South Australia, hosted Dry Lake Racers Australia’s 33rd annual Speed Week. Credit: Dean Sewell

Lake Gairdner is the Australian equivalent of the Bonneville (as in Triumph) Salt Flats in Utah, scene of the movie The World’s Fastest Indian, starring Anthony Hopkins. Hopkins plays the real-life character of New Zealander Burt Munro, who broke records there on his classic 1920 Indian motorcycle.

It all adds up to mean if you are a speed freak, rev-head or speedster that you can put your foot on the gas at Lake Gairdner and accelerate for quite a time before you have to start wondering if the brakes still work.

Eddie Zeller with his Lakester “Belly Tank” made from the reserve fuel tank of a B-52 bomber aircraft.Credit: Dean Sewell

When photographer Dean Sewell arrived on site for the recent Speed Week event it started raining within 15 minutes, which terminated 2½ days of the scheduled five-day event.

“This gave us some incredible images on the lake until it dried up and racing continued,” he said. “In previous years when rain interfered, everyone packed up and went home.

“This year was different. The racers were unable to leave because all their vehicles were stranded three kilometres out on the lake’s surface and were held there until the surface dried. There was eight millimetres of water on the surface which gave the impression of walking on a mirror – very Dali-esque.”

One other thing to take into account before you put on your gloves and goggles is that Lake Gairdner is tidal and affected by moon phase. On a full moon, the water is pulled through the salt crust to a depth of up to a metre so racing can only ever be held in a new moon phase.

Toowoomba sisters Emily (16) and Kylie Gray (13) pose in front of their 300cc Kawasaki Ninja Lakester called Childs Play Credit: Dean Sewell

In the last four years, due to rain events and COVID-19, only four to five days of racing have occurred, so the recent race week was an opportunity to put the record straight.

Greg Wapling, president of Dry Lakes Racers Australia, which oversees the competition, said they were lucky to hold the event given the lake was under water 12 months ago.

The salt flats turned to water by rain.Credit: Dean Sewell

“We managed to get in over 400 runs for the week, we had 56 records broken, and there were some 60 rookies this year who all a managed to compete,” he said. “Even though it rained we were telling people ‘this will dry out’ and sure enough by Thursday it did.”

Eddie Zeller from Ipswich south-west of Brisbane, who tunes cars for a living, said on the Monday he clocked 265mph (426km/h) and was hoping to exceed 300mph, but the speed has to be achieved twice to count towards a record. His car is made from the reserve fuel tank of a B-52 bomber.

“I did a test run on the Thursday on the short track and I was doing skids at 250mph; it’s a bit of fun,” he said. “If we go over 301mph it will be the fastest Australian car.”

Ron Gray from Toowoomba, who also builds race cars for a living, is teaching his daughters Kylie, 13, and Emily, 16, the finer points of car preparation and chasing speed records in their car, Childs Play. He said they snagged three out of the four records they were chasing. The car can run on normal petrol or race fuel depending on the class.

Emily said she was sitting on the start line on Monday as it began to rain. “On Thursday I got my Australian record at 89mph. There’s no age to the classes, it just goes on engine size. I was absolutely thrilled because I could see it [the speed] on my dash. I get a certificate and my name in the books.”

Kylie said she was the third driver to go down the track. “I went 75mph and then straight back to the line and ran again and got that record,” she said. “Emily and I are in different classes so we don’t have to compete against each other.

“I do most of the painting for our cars because I am into painting. Dad does the main stuff and Emily does the wiring and fibreglass. [They are] good life skills.

“I’m going to keep racing. I’ve got the need for speed.”

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