BRITTEN V-1000
RACER TEST
P116
started in third gear due to the
engine's enormously tall com-
pression, and the second the
booming twin fired, I reckon
there were around 100 people
standing in a semi-circle around
the blue and pink beast. Cam-
eras flashing, pointing fingers
and just the general look of awe
on people's faces seemed to be
all I could see, as I snicked the
Britten into first gear and rolled
down pit lane, all the while ex-
tremely careful to A) Not run into
anything in the rather cramped
pits while riding at below 5 mph
and B) Not let it stall, which is all
too easy thanks to the lack of fly-
wheel weight and the machine's
refusal to idle.
It's hard to put into words the
feeling of utter amazement I
had riding the Britten at a snail's
pace down to the track opening.
The people crammed into the
pits make something of a human
corridor, as I roll through franti-
cally trying to keep the Britten
revving at a point where it won't
stall. Bam, bam, bam, bam—the
engine revs with a faster feroc-
ity than a grand prix 250cc
two-stroke, and no sooner do
I compete one blip that I need
to do another because the revs
go from 2500 rpm to 8000 rpm
