The 2026 Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials (BMST) – an integral part of the FIM Land Speed World Records (LSWR) discipline – will be staged from 23-27 August on the world-famous Bonneville Salt Flats in the American state of Utah.
The five-day celebration of speed is the premier event of its kind for motorcycles on the global calendar and attracts a large entry of riders hoping to power their way into the record books on a wide variety of machinery.
All record categories are gender-neutral and determined by the method by which the motorcycle is propelled, body kit, power source, capacity and number of cylinders. Riders aiming to set new FIM World Records are measured over a timed kilometre and after their initial down run they have two hours to complete a return run with the times combined and an average calculated to determine the official speed.
The BMST is based around two courses – the Mountain Track and the longer International Track – and last year’s event saw three riders set four new FIM World Records, although adverse weather did impact on the number of attempts.
The most high-profile casualty of the weather was Chris Rivas who, piloting Denis Manning’s BUB Seven Streamliner, had hoped to break the FIM-accredited motorcycle absolute Land Speed World Record of 376.156mph (605.697km/h). His attempt had to be abandoned due to track conditions, but the Floridian is expected to return this year as he continues his quest to break the 400mph (643.738km/h)mark.
Lying around thirteen-hundred metres above sea level and two-hundred kilometres west of Utah state capital Salt Lake City, the Bonneville Flats International Raceway is an iconic location that has become synonymous with the highly-specialised world of Land Speed World Records. Once part of a vast prehistoric lake, it has been the site of every successful attempt on the motorcycle absolute Land Speed World Record since September 1955 with Rocky Robinson setting the current record there in 2010 on a Suzuki Hayabusa 2600.
First held in 2004, BMST is a co-sanctioned event promoted by Deliciate Promotions, LLC, and runs alongside the American Motorcyclist Association’s Land Speed Grand Championship, which allows riders to contend for an FIM World Record and/or an AMA National Championship title.
Event Director/Owner Delvene Reber said: “Land Speed is such a highly accessible type of racing and has probably the widest variety of bikes and people from different backgrounds in any discipline. Our racers don’t do this for a living – they take a week off work every year and come out here – and we have everything from 50cc to 3000cc motorcycles. Some have fairings, some don’t have fairings and then there are [fully enclosed] streamliners. Some are turbo-charged, some are super-charged, then you can break it down into twins, singles and multi-cylinder machines.
“BMST is a truly international event that encourages participation from all walks of life and thanks to the ongoing and valuable support of the FIM I am confident we can build on 2025’s successes.”
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