Hello Joe Amo and the land speed list.
The information on the plans of Richard Brown and Team Maximum Impulse is
correct.
The World Land Speed programme has been put on hold until late summer
2001at the earliest. Even then a number of factors have to be right,
including finding a consistent surface 5 miles long to run on. We need to
be able to use the solid billet wheels on the bike.
On Saturday 19th February the team members came together to see a preview
of the Sunset & Vine produced BBC documentary on the FIM attempt at
Bonneville in 1999. We are not sure if this programme will be broadcast
to anywhere other than England but I am hopeful that there may be a video
produced later. This will be a programme for adults as the F *!?! word
gets used a great deal :- especially when the mile timing 'glitches'
(giving unbelievable numbers for the difference between kilo exit and mile
exit); the chute 'dances' the rear of the bike at 250 mph and then a tyre
deflates at 365 mph.
The team has no commercial support for year 2000 and we have to start the
process of marketing the available sponsorship, which includes re-naming
the machine. Gillette UK will not be promoting its Mach 3 brand through
the bike record attempts. This marketing process will start when we can
show people what we have achieved, by letting them see the screened
documentary footage.
I know Denis Manning is on his way to set the wheeldriven and outright bike
record in Australia with Tenacious II - we wish him well because his
lengthy endeavours deserves his team being the official fastest (for a
short while). On the tape his comments, during his '99 bike only event
when Richard makes a practice run pulling a very high G acceleration with
two hybrid rockets firing (he and others utter "Holy S*!!*), included his
announcement that he had 'seen the future' pass in front of his eyes. Team
Maximum Impulse want's the outright FIM speed record officially.
The bike is now on display in the UK National Motorcycle Museum which is
near Birmingham, West Midlands, England.
Thanks to all our American friends for their help and assistance getting to
the salt and whilst on the salt.
Malcolm Pittwood
Project Administrator, Team Maximum Impulse, operators of the Gillette Mach
3 Challenger - official kilo speed one way pass of 332.877 mph.
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