Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1484691
IN THE WIND P56 Movie Review: Tourist Trophy T hose who race the Isle of Man know what they're doing, the risks, and the consequence if it all goes wrong. This breed of person you don't often meet in everyday life, and this is one of the central features of the new movie Tourist Trophy. This is the first feature-length film since the roaringly successful Closer To The Edge epic of 2011 that the now retired Guy Martin made his own, so Tourist Trophy has some big shoes to fill. The TT has changed much since that time over a decade ago, but then, it hasn't changed at all, and that's one of the endearing factors of the race. Tourist Trophy focuses on six riders and their individual tales from the 37-¾-mile street course: Rookie and young father Glenn Ir- win on the factory Honda, his team- mate and 23-time TT winner John McGuinness, the current master of the TT, Peter Hickman, sidecar brothers Ben and Tom Birchall and Michael "Jack" Russell, who attempted to become the first man in TT history to finish every single event in a year—Superbike, Super- stock, Super Twins, Supersport, Sidecar and the Senior TT. Tourist Trophy has some ex- ceptional videography scattered throughout. The onboard shots are as close as you will get to actually being on the motorcycle, and the brilliant slow-motion shots really show the hammering the motor- cycles take during a given race. Listening to how Peter Hickman attacks the course or how McGuin- ness ensures his mind is firmly on the job is enthralling as he taps into a level of concentration few humans will ever attain. Another part that really got me was Glenn Irwin's reaction after his first laps of the TT course, a feeling I know only too well as I was a rookie with him this year, too. Michael "Jack" Russell is, for me, the man of the film. This is what the TT is about: grafters who simply put everything on the line to compete with no real hope of getting a major result. The priva- teers make the TT what it is, and Russell's never-say-die approach is the movie's highlight. However, what Tourist Trophy does not do is adequately convey the dark side of the TT, which is just as important as the heroics performed on the track. Six rid- ers (Mark Purslow, sidecar duo Cesar Chanal and Olivier Lavorel, Davy Morgan, and father/son sidecar pairing Roger and Brad- ley Stockton) lost their lives this year. The film does not mention their names, much less the fact there were fatalities at all, until towards the end of the film, which I thought was a shame and to the detriment of the film. This fact took some of the shine off an otherwise very good movie. Tourist Trophy shows the TT in its best light, and you can't blame the directors for that. I would have liked a cameo from Paul Philips, the man primarily responsible for making the TT the incredible event that it is. Phillips has done so much to ensure the longevity and safety of the most dangerous race in the world, and his insight into the race would have given the movie a slightly different angle. And to have the rookie liaison of- ficers of John Barton and the hilari- ous Richard 'Milky' Quale not on camera was a bummer. Tourist Trophy will doubtless bring new fans into the fold, which is objective number one for a film such as this. All criticisms aside, it's a great watch and will likely leave you with that sudden urge to check your annual leave to see the event and experience the fear for yourself. Tourist Trophy is free to watch on TT+, the TT's free-to-register digital platform, and streams from 19:30 GMT on Wednesday, No- vember 23, 2022. Rennie Scaysbrook