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are no plans to change it .
Unlike many other motor racing events , being a part of Speed Week is easy , visitors are welcomed , chatting with pit crews is expected . Pit tents scatter the main sectioned off pit area and all vehicles are there permanently for the whole week . The lake is open from dawn to dusk , and teams are lining up before sunrise to get out to their vehicles so that they can prepare to race the clock .
Motorcycles dominate this event as they are the easiest and cheapest vehicles to run under the regulations . You can simply sign up , pay your fees , and do a few simple modifications like lock-wire anything that could fall off . It ’ s mandated before being a starter at Speed Week . Anything with four wheels requires massive modifications like roll cages , alloy seats , and fire extinguisher setups .
The bikes at this event are some of the most incredible machines you will ever see and 90 % of them are built by a few friends in the homes back shed every fortnight over a few beers .
They start out simple and then , after attending Speed Week and being bit by the bug , the science of it all starts . You see , you can jump on a stock R1 , get out on the salt , and do 220kph tucked in behind the fairing but then something weird happens , you hit a wall ... the force of the air you are trying to push through is greater than the traction you have on your rear wheel , and it starts to spin up on the salt ! That ’ s right , you are wheel spinning whilst pinned in 6th gear and not getting any faster . How frustrating when the manufacturers specifications say the bike can do 300kph , yet the salt says no !
You do ten runs , and the wall still can ’ t be broken through . Returning home the team hides in the shed , the swingarm is extended by 500 millimetres , the frame is lowered , a redesigned fairing is fitted , suddenly your obsessed .
Two tracks usually run , a shortened version at four miles in length for the racers with lower speeds , up to 175 miles per hour for the bikes and 150mph for cars , and a longer nine mile straight for those capable of higher than 150mph . This year , 2023 , saw the longer track shortened due to the salt being wet and becoming soft at the eight
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