Unbelievably, the event has been washed out six times, twice in consecutive years and four times in the past decade. It also happens just once per year in late summer when the mercury is soaring and there are no rain dates. You bring everything in, you take everything out. And when you do arrive, there’s … well, not much. It’s a 1300km haul from Melbourne, 1800km from Sydney and 2500km from Perth. The closest town is Port Augusta, 200km away, and the closest capital Adelaide some 500km to the south. Lake Gairdner is deep in the South Australian outback at the end of a long corrugated dirt road. As with drag racing, everything is in miles per hour and then you have to get there. This year 90 motorcycles lined up for the starter’s flag alongside 30 cars, split roughly between purpose-built race bikes like Burt Munro’s and road or track bikes having a big day out. And then The World’s Fastest Indian came out. Numbers then slowly grew from seven that year to 21 in 2005. Three bikes made a fleeting appearance in 1994, but it wasn’t until 1998 that bikes raced again. Nine cars competed, with one of the DLRA founders Rod Hadfield fastest at 147mph in a 1932 Ford. The hot rodders first ventured to Lake Gairdner to live the Bonneville dream in 1990, forming Dry Lakes Racers Australia to (manage) their new sport along the way. The glorious noise rolls on long after they are out of site and then, when it finally starts to fade, it echoes back from the other side of the lake.
#Bob on a postie bike around the world drivers
What’s common to all riders and drivers is that they will stay hard on the gas, literally flat out, for miles and miles, and there are no decibel limits or sound barriers. Making horsepower isn’t the hard part, they say punching a hole in the air is, so they don’t mind it hot and thin. Racers chasing maximum horsepower favour the dense morning air, which accounts for all the early activity. Yet here we are, a bunch of unwashed petrol heads about to race our open-piped bikes and cars on its pristine rock-hard surface as fast as we possibly can. Surrounded by barren outback sheep stations, the 160km-long dry salt lake is a national park and significant indigenous site, and access is strictly controlled. Lake Gairdner is spectacular at any time, but never more so than at dawn, especially if you’re out there on the lake itself. As the sun rises over the far range, engines kick into life and racers make their way to the starting area. It’s never cool out here but at least it’s not hot, and the flies are still asleep. The days start early, well before dawn, as racers and crew emerge from their bush camps beside the lake to make their way to the pits situated midway along Track 1. Once a year the empty salt flats at Lake Gairdner are filled with the roar of motorcycles rocketing towards the horizon.
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