I
t’s7am, andmore than 120menand
womenhavegatheredbesidea trailer in
theMojaveDesert.Afterwelcome
speeches, aprayer issaid, and the
visitors remove their strawhats for the
playingof theAmericannational anthem. Soon this
spacewillfillwith the roarofV8engines, followedby
thesightof carshurtlingpast in thedesert.
For sixweekendseveryyear,California’sElMirage
dry lakefillswithpeopleandcars: roadsters, belly
tankers, lakesters, streamlinersandmore.They’re
here tobreak record times, travellingup to300mph
(more than480kph)over 1.3miles (2km).
Theevent isorganisedby theSouthernCalifornia
TimingAssociation (SCTA),whichheld itsfirst
meet in 1937and isconsidered tobe theUSA’soldest
operating raceorganisation.Racinghas takenplace
atElMirage formore than60years, and theSCTA
alsoholds speedmeetson theBonnevilleSaltFlats
(s
eesidebar
),wherecars reachevenhigher speeds.
Trials takeplace inmanycategories–becauseof
thecars’highgears, someneed tobepushedup to
50/60mph (nearly 100kph)before theycanengage
first; afterabout 30seconds to reach topspeed, a
parachutebrings thecars toastop.AtElMirage,
temperatures in thedaycanhit43
o
C, and the races
arenormallyoverby3.30pm.
BillLattin, theSCTA’spresident, got into racing
throughhis fatherJim,whobecameSCTApresident
whenBillwas three. “Mydad letmedrivehiscars
and I startedworkingon them,” saysBill,whogot
his licencesohecouldcompeteat 16. “Dadwas
buildingand racingvintageFords, and I slid right
in.”Jimowns theRedheadstreamliner featured
in
TheWorld’sFastest Indian
,Bill saysproudly, a
2005movieaboutworld-speed recordbreakerBurt
Munro, playedbyAnthonyHopkins.
Billhasworked inconstruction, andoncarsand
motorbikes, and livesonehour fromElMirage
inRiversideCounty.Now49,he races threecars,
includinga 1934flatheadcoupeV8andavintage
indiecarwithaV8engine that’snumberoneon
pointsatElMiragewhenwespeak. Jim, 79, acts
asBill’screwchief,managing thepush truckand
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