TT: Closer to the Edge – TT3D: Closer to the Edge (2011)

Directed by: Richard de Aragues | 99 minutes | documentary, sports

To be honest, the undersigned never thought for a moment that a movie about motorcycle racing could please him for even a minute. Of those camera-shy racers who are all selling the standard boring press talk, so that some images of racing motorcycles can be sold to the uninspired Veronica magazine audience. That was the picture, but it turned out to be a misjudgment! ‘TT: Closer to the Edge’ turns out to be one hell of a documentary!

Every year thousands of racing fans gather for the TT on the normally picturesque Isle of Man. It is here that every year a few daredevils dare to get on their motorcycles to compete for the coveted Tourist Trophy. This means that people race at speeds of 250 km per hour through the narrow roads and streets of the course without any form of safety measures. With the exception of the presence of an ambulance, the motorcyclists are completely dependent on their own abilities.

Director De Aragues clearly reveals what drives the racers to participate in this madness. We see men who are all driven by the thrill of racing death, a passion that resembles a drug addiction. These men live for sport and are only too happy to take the risk of dying into the bargain. So there is no reflection. Everyone who speaks in the film agrees with the risk that they may not be there tomorrow, but each and every one of them dismisses that risk as a part of it. Even though almost all of them know someone in their environment who has been fatal to racing. By sketching this context of death and adrenaline, you suddenly look very differently at the spectacular racing images that are incorporated in the film and you empathize even more intensely with the protagonists. Sure, because it makes you feel good that someone could die at any moment. That sounds morbid, but at the same time you get the strong impression that that is precisely the secret instrument of the TT. Without that risk, the challenge wouldn’t be the same.

The present camera crew mainly pays attention to Guy Martin, the nonchalant racer who, unlike his colleagues, manages to bring a certain charisma with him. Although the film tries to paint an overall picture of the madness called TT, we especially empathize with Guy. We see the preparations, the obligatory press moments, the practice rounds and then finally the tense moments just before the race in which every racer realizes that his last hour may have come. All moments that Guy manages to make even more absurd with his relativistic humor than they already are. Race fan or not, you too will be on the edge of your seat the moment the final TT erupts and Guy takes a shot at the championship. The thrill you feel as the racers fly through the corners at ridiculous speeds is something no Hollywood production can match. In any case, this documentary has convinced someone: motorcycle racing? Great!