Imagine A Place So Smooth you can see the curvature of the earth. Imagine a place so barren that it is hostile to even the most primitive forms of plant life. Imagine a place that caters to the relentless pursuit of unlimited wheel-driven speed.
There are few locations that conjure up such mental images as Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats. This 30,000-acre landmass has long been the spiritual home for competitors to measure motorsport in its most finite elements: distance versus time. Every year, nature's ecosystem transforms this lake into a blinding white salt plain baked dry by the relentless Utah sun. It was our first trip to this hallowed ground, and we were struck by the majesty of this lunar-like landscape framed by the distant mountains under a canopy of brilliant blue sky. The ground is white-brilliant white-and at 7 a.m. we could already feel the warmth of the sun's rays. This tranquil moment was broken by the cacophony of sound ripping through the still Utah morning...Chassis Engineering just fired up its six-cylinder Cummins in the Diesel Streamliner class. The morning is the best time to run, when the ground is hard and offers more traction. Each record-breaking run from the previous day has priority over the other competitors and are provided with the best surface for another opportunity to post their time in the record books.
It can be a lonely life competing in this insatiable quest for speed. It's just you and the clock. Simple. Months of preparation can be dashed in one run by a fellow competitor who may have tweaked the engine just that little bit more or made some minor adjustments to the aerodynamics. It's not uncommon to hear of midnight engine rebuilds being performed in the hotel rooms in nearby Wendover. Competitors only have seven days to run, so time is critical. The record books are waiting.
Walking through the assembly area, we viewed the wide variety of vehicles competing in their respective classes. The largest contingency consisted of highly modified T-buckets and hot rods, with motorcycles coming a close second. Entrants had traveled from all over the world. Some of these teams have been coming here for generations, it is evident that gray-haired experience over youth is a prerequisite for doing well here at Bonneville.
One of the more prominent entrants of the week was the JCB Dieselmax from England. While most of the teams consisted of a small family environment, this team held a presence different from the others. These guys had traveled a long way, and corporate reputations were on the line. Records were here to be contested and won. At the JCB camp, meals were catered and delivered, and after each run, the doors of the semi were firmly shut while the team digested the data from the previous run. Dr. Tim Leverton, Dieselmax project director, said "We are doing this to prove our engine. To power the worlds fastest diesel car with two JCB engines designed for our construction machines will be a huge achievement." This would be a remarkable feat. The aim of the JCB team was to reach the lofty goal of 300 mph running on diesel fuel.
Team JCB was not the only diesel-powered group aiming for the big 300 mark. The aforementioned Chassis Engineering team was running its long, pencil-shaped car powered with a 5.9L Cummins and piloted by driver Roy Lewis. This team had been here before and pegged a respectable 226 mph in 2002.
The JCB Dieselmax was powered by two four-cylinder JCB444-LSR common rail injected diesels each boasting 750 hp and 1,105 lb-ft of torque. The entire engine and chassis platform was shrouded in the latest high-tech carbon fiber composites. Obviously, little (if any) expense was spared on this corporate attempt at the world record. In the early hours of the morning, the JCB entourage slipped out of Bonneville as the new record holder for diesel power with two runs the previous day at 308 mph and 325 mph, respectively.
In all, the Dieselmax would make five runs over 300 mph to set a total of three records, including the FIA speed record of 350.092 mph-the average of their 365 mph and 335 mph runs. Supposedly, the Dieselmax has more power and an extra gear that was left unused for fear of pushing the tires over 350 mph. Who knows? Those JCB engines may be capable of 400 mph. We hope to see them again in 2007.