UK Drivers ‘Gutted’ After Failed Race at Salt Flats in Utah

It’s always exciting when we see a location we recognize in a TV show.

Well, almost always. There was one time I was visiting Las Vegas and watching COPS on the TV when I realized that the crime they were following was literally the street next to where I was parked. That was less exciting.

Top Gear UK Heads to ‘Utah’s Wild West’ for Powerful V8 Racing

I was just running through reruns of the UK Top Gear when I realized that the drivers were heading to a place I knew. I grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the Bonneville Salt Flats are a dream destination for drivers.

This was a different instance than the time the UK Top Gear team raced the salt flats and set speed records in their American Muscle cars. A lot different since the time they came before, they actually got to race.

In 2018, a new Top Gear team - comprised of racing legend Chris Harris, Rory Reid, and Matt LeBlanc of FRIENDS fame - headed to Bonneville to face the salt and instead were faced with a mini version of Lake Bonneville.

An unexpected rainstorm had passed through and left the flats covered in water.

The cars were amazing, as always, since they were all V8-powered monsters, but they had to head to a different location in Utah to race. Harris said he was 'gutted' that they couldn't run the flats as it was something he had dreamed of doing for 30 years.

If you love raw engine power and want to see a Ford Mustang race against a McLaren and a Jaguar, you need to watch the first episode of Top Gear UK’s season 25.