A Place Where it’s Legal to Go 100-300+ mph
From racing a ’32 Ford Roadster in Australia to operating one of the most legendary events in motorcycling, Delvene Reber has spent over two decades shaping the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials. In this episode, host Heather Wilson Schiltz sits down with Delvene to talk about what it takes to run the AMA Land Speed Grand Championship, also known as Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials, on the ever-changing Utah salt flats.
You’ll hear how her background in education and event planning prepared her for the unique challenges of promoting a world-record-eligible event, the evolution of salt conditions over time, and why Bonneville is still one of the last truly open-access motorcycle competitions around.
🎧 What You’ll Hear:
• How Delvene went from a hot rod–loving family in Australia to organizing land speed racing on the salt in AmericaThe intense planning and logistics behind building a racecourse in the middle of nowhere
• How record-setting runs are timed and what it takes to get an AMA or FIM-certified record
• Why Delvene calls Bonneville “the slowest fastest racing in the world”
• The thrill of witnessing the astonishing speeds that racers are clocking
• A culture that fosters camaraderie — even between rivals
• Fitting racers inside streamliners that are only 22 inches wide
• How the salt itself has become one of the biggest opponents to record‑breaking speeds — insight into conditions through the decades
• Why Bonneville’s pit area is one of the most welcoming and accessible in motorsports
• Ways to get involved as a spectator, volunteer or land speed racer
📲 Connect with Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials:
🌐 Learn more at BonnevilleMST.com
🌐 Follow on Facebook
🌐 FIM Land Speed Records: fim-moto.com
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“It’s unlike anything you will have ever experienced. We operate on over 40 square miles of salt. Our actual operating area is more like 20 square miles. It’s one of those things, I’m so close to it now, I’m so used to it. It’s the most prominent motorcycle racing, obviously I know. When I go to other motorcycle events, I’m also like, ‘It’s so small.’ So in terms of like, I can see the whole track at once as opposed to just like one mile.
You see such a huge variety in the motorcycles. You can see the fanciest of streamliners out there going for the absolute world record, but you can also see something that’s like, ‘Hey, this was my dad’s like sixties BMW, and I want to ride it and see how fast she’ll go.’“
-Delvene Reber, Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials Promoter
