Review: The Road Racers

I just finished watching The Road Racers for the second time this week. Apparently it seems to be a little known movie as there are no reviews for it on that Amazon link, and a web search didn’t reveal anything from the title alone.

Nevertheless it is a brilliant watch – it is a short documentary about an unofficial racing team in Ireland called the Armoy Armada, consisting of Joey Dunlop, Mervyn Robinson and Frank Kennedy (that first name at least should be familiar). I can’t decide what I found most charming about it – the then superbikes roaring through the Irish backroads, the quiet, rural backdrop and the intimate look at these racers’ lives, or the thrilling clips of them in action on the road circuits. Now I don’t watch MotoGP that much, but those old races have something about them that makes modern racing seem so clinical and calculated. I was especially amused by the scenes in which both of Frank Kennedy’s hands are broken and in splints, and how he struggles to eat and drive and be normal. *ahem*

Sadly enough, both Frank and Mervyn died in high speed crashes in the space of a year. As did Joey Dunlop a few years ago, although he at least, got to live a little bit longer and enjoy his fame and glory.