TT3D: Closer to the Edge

Last night I saw TT3D in 2D at my local rep cinema, Campus West in Welwyn Garden City. It is the only such cinema between home and London and always has an interesting programme of films on. Previous visits have been with my children to see films that they had chosen, so it was good to go with friends to see this film about the Isle of Man TT. Perhaps unsurprisingly the audience was not large and there was a definite gender bias although the age range was rather more inclusive. An enlightened and civilsed cinema, Campus West serve beer and wine and allow you to take these with you into the auditorium.

TT3D opens with a sequence of onboard footage, which seeks to create a virtual ride around the opening section of the Isle of Man circuit (see here for an example). As the bike powers away from the starting grid the spectator participates vicariously in every gear change as the front wheel lifts off under acceleration and that sensation took me straight back to my own motorcycling days. I wouldn't have been matching the kinds of speeds involved in riding the TT clearly but motorcycling is ultimately all about speed and the 0 to 60 standing start (and beyond on the Isle of Man) is something that all bikers will recognise as part of the thrill... And this thrill is essentially what TT3D is all about. The film captures and demonstrates the passion for speed and the desire to win that motivates the riders in the TT. They all risk their lives every time they take to the circuit riding at speeds of up to 200mph, inches away from dry stone walls, trees and traffic furniture. As the film makes abundantly clear there is absolutely no margin for error and yet at the same time the riders are pushing right up to the limits of grip in the search for ever faster lap times.

Tying the film together is the story of Guy Martin, a charismatic, outspoken and ultra individual rider who works as a lorry mechanic during the week but who lives for the adrenaline rush of road racing. Other riders play a part in the documentary, including Michael Dunlop, the son of Robert Dunlop and the nephew of one of the greatest ever TT riders, Joey Dunlop, Ian Hutchinson, the first man to win 5 TT races in a single year, and the legendary John McGuinness, but Martin has a real presence in front of the camera and is sufficiently unconventional to make for compelling viewing - he is also a pretty handy motorcyclist! The film covers the 2010 TT and we see Martin achieving some great results but he never reaches the top step of the podium, a situation repeated at this year's event when Martin came second in the Senior TT, the prestige race of the meeting. So, the film contains a good deal of racing footage, most of it contemporary, although there is some archive footage and even a series of clips from Monty Banks' 1935 film No Limit, starring George Formby - a great film that I remember seeing as a boy. Martin's presence in the film gives the viewer an insight into the mindset of a TT racer; as we follow his exploits and his often wry commentary we begin to understand what drives someone to take the kinds of risks that define the TT and position it as probably the most famous of all of the surviving road races. All of the riders, and their partners and families too, live with the presence of death. They all know riders who have died at the TT and they all recognise that even the simplest of mistakes can have a tragic outcome. At one point the film reflects on the death of Paul Dobbs, a New Zealander killed at the 2010 TT, revealing the grief felt by his fellow competitors but also the intense sense of community shared by them. An interview with Bridget Dobbs reveals something of the spirit of the riders and their families as she explains how the TT was a part of both of their lives and how her husband died doing something that he loved. Despite the tragedy, which Bridget Dobbs refuses to see in these terms, there is an uplifting sense of the importance of lives being lived to the full - Paul Dobbs' life but also Bridget's life and the lives of her children. The message is a familiar one but it is expressed in simple and honest terms in this film.

TT3D was shot in the run up to the 2010 TT and charts Guy Martin's preparations for it with the final section of the film covering his performances (and those of his rivals) in the races themselves.

Much of the race footage no doubt comes from the television coverage of the TT and this is used well in relation to the Martin material. As the film moves towards its conclusion we come ever closer to the huge accident suffered by Martin in the Senior TT.

Travelling at approximately 160mph, Martin lost the front wheel going into the famously very fast Ballagarey corner and the bike slipped away from under him, hitting a wall and exploding on impact. Incredibly Martin survived the crash although he suffered broken ribs, vertebrae and other assorted injuries. Martin is interviewed in hospital and expresses similar views to those here. There is no doubt that riders such as Martin are incredibly courageous; they are also single minded and some would no doubt call them selfish for pursuing their passions in the way that they do. They are though a reminder in our ever more regulated lives that there is still room for activities that gain their excitement through their inherent danger...

The film itself is well made and makes good use of the material either shot or sourced. It tells a compelling human story while managing to place the viewer at the heart of much of the action. Early on the film can occasionally feel a little frenetic as the footage shifts rapidly while the documentary seeks to orientate its spectators and its subject matter. There was only one moment that grated for me and this was in the run up to the final series of races at the 2010 TT when the key protagonists - Hutchinson, Dunlop and Martin - are presented readying themselves, shot in close-up pulling on their leathers and looking more like the stars of a deodorant or razor blade advert!

As I left the cinema and tried to work out whether I needed to pay for car parking I met an old boy who had also just seen the film. He told me that his father had raced in the 1923 TT and had gone on to race Cooper 500 Formula 3 cars in the late 1940s and early 1950s. For him watching the film had re-connected him with his memories of his late father. For me the reconnection was perhaps rather more mundane but it did rekindle my passion for motorcycling and remind me not only why it can be so enjoyable but also just how dangerous it can be too...

Classics in the Walled Garden 2011

With all the rain that we have had recently we were very lucky to have had a brief respite last Wednesday evening - just long enough to allow for a more or less entirely dry Classics in the Walled Garden at Luton Hoo. The event is only a couple of miles down the road for me so there isn't a great deal of driving pleasure to be had in attending; however, what I do enjoy is the sheer range of vehicles that turn up, some of which have come from pretty far afield. What also marks these types of event is the friendliness of the visitors, whether participants or spectators. Not long after I arrived I found myself chatting with the owner of a very well used Jensen Interceptor, a car that I lusted after as a boy after picking up a beautiful promotional booklet at an Alexandra Palace motor show. Having made all sorts of modifications to the car he told me that he was using it more regularly than his modern.

I also came across the car that my parents were married in, a car that forms of part of the Vauxhall Heritage Collection. It was great to see it out, especially as it spends much of its time on static display. There were a number of Vauxhalls at the event as well as a surprisingly large number of MG As and E-Type Jags, although it is their 50th anniversary this year so they're obviously keen to celebrate... I also saw my first ever 'live' Aston Martin Lagonda, which up close is a really rather impressive car.

As usual there were lots of modern Ferraris, which I have to confess don't do a great deal for for me, but there was a very special looking Daytona Spyder bearing the registration plate '365 FER'.

In comparison the Marcos that I took along might have seemed rather brutal, especially once running (it is very loud) but it does evoke a similar era - late 1960 - the period when the 'swinging sixties' began to give way to the 'glam rock' seventies... By eight in the evening the early arrivals began to leave for the journey home and so I managed to navigate my way out past the many who remained, as the beer and food continued to be enjoyed. Once again a very pleasant event, helped hugely by a window in the wet weather...

Goodwood Festival of Speed 2011

I hadn't planned to visit the Festival of Speed this year but courtesy of Classic and Sports Car I was lucky enough to attend the 'Moving Motor Show', which ran for the second time this year, ahead of the main three days of the Festival. Having attended with friends in the past, I decided to take my father down to Goodwood, which meant an early pick up from Greenwich, rendered significantly later than planned by an accident on the M25. In all I spent ten hours driving, so I was thankful that the weather was good, bar the odd shower, and I was able to keep the hood down in my Mazda MX-5 - a real relief as my windows are currently stuck in the closed position. As ever the Festival showcases an amazing array of cars from over a hundred years of motoring. I hadn't expected the display of contemporary machinery to necessarily excite me as classic and vintage cars are more my thing but I was very taken by Morgan's modern revamp of its famous three wheeler.

The car is powered by a 1.9 litre S & S motorcycle engine that delivers something in the region of 115 bhp or around 220 per tonne given the light weight of the car. Transmission is via a 5 speed Mazda MX-5 gearbox also offering - rather usefully - a reverse gear! The car is beautifully finished, inside and out and the noise through the twin pipes, combining the best of bike and car, sounds wonderful. A team from Morgan were on hand at Goodwood to answer questions about the car, including Steve Morris, the production director, with whom my father and I had a fascinating conversation regarding matters such as steering geometry, engine design and tyre speed rating (the Avons might work well on my Dad's Austin 7 'Machlachlan' single seater). I would have loved an opportunity to take one for a test drive but had to make do with trying one on for size...

The £30,000 price tag is a bit of barrier to ownership, as is the already lengthy waiting list if you do happen to have that kind of money to spend on what is essentially a toy...

Also of interest this year was the Costin-Harris 'Protos' Formula 2 racing car, featuring, as one might expect given Costin's involvement, a stressed-skin plywood monocoque. Fitted with a 1600cc fuel injected Cosworth engine producing 225 bhp the car was capable of a top speed of approximately 175 mph. Racing in the Formula 2 Championships in 1967 and 1968 the car was moderately successful, achieving a best place of 2nd at Hockenheim, where it took the lap record.

Also interesting was the display of forty or so Indianapolis 500 cars in 'Gasoline Alley' which included the huge Cummins Diesel, the first of its type to race the Indy 500.

As ever there was too much to see in a single day but that's part of what makes the Festival of Speed so enjoyable. I am already planning for the Revival in September at which, thankfully, there won't be a Range Rover display to distract my Dad - every time we passed it he had to be stopped from sharing his views about how bad they are with the staff - and he should know, he has owned two!