As motor racing is a sport (don’t look at me like that! It bloody well is a sport) any fictional movie about racing won’t be quite as exciting as a true moment of sporting greatness. Perhaps, that’s why my picks are either based on true stories or are documentaries. Make sure to visit –
My first pick is Greased Lightning, a film about racing car driver Wendell Scott, the first ever black man to win a top level of NASCAR race. Greased Lightning is an engaging and inspiring film as it looks at how Wendell Scott fought the racism of the segregated South to become a racing driver. The racing scenes are, surprisingly, really well done in a great, little film.
Unlike NASCAR, Formula 1 hastracks that have right turns and some that go left as well… it’s not quite so big in America, but for Europe, and Britain in particular, it’s the biggest form of motorsport. Rush is about the legendary rivalry between Niki Lauda and James Hunt, focusing on the 1976 season where Lauda suffered an almost fatal crash at the deadly Nordschleife. Rush is a superb film that perfectly emulated the two contrasting personalities of the two drivers. Rush is a film that thrilled both fans and non-fans alike.
When Three time World Champion Aryton Senna died during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix I wasn’t even two years old, I was far too young to remember. However, twenty years later I was old enough to remember the death of Jules Bianchi as a result of an accident to graphic to show on TV. The death of Senna brought in numerous safety measures which revolutionized the sport and ensured death wasn’t a normality in the sport. From this documentary you could tell the danger the drivers faced, but this did not deter Senna from driving the wheels off every car he drove including a race where he endured great physical pain to claim victory in his home country of Brazil.
TT3D Closer to the Edge follows three bikers who travel to the Isle of Man to take part in one of the deadliest races in the world which, since the creation of the event in 1901, has claimed over 200 lives. We follow the main bikers Guy Hamilton, Ian Hutchinson and John McGuinness as they prepare for the biggest event of their year. Surrounding the track are stone walls, houses and hills to tumble down thus the TT Isle of Man will punish you if you make one small error and at the immense spends they travel at they could be fatal, The sweeping camera shots are impressive and capture the speed and the danger of the track brilliantly, the pictures of bikes that have turned into a fireball are terrifying and the footage of deadly bike crashes is horrifying.
