What’s on this week
DVD NORTH WEST 200 REVIEW RRP £14.99
The three-week period from the middle of May through to the end of the first week in June is a magical time for bike racing fans. The North West 200 in Ireland, the first big international road race of the year, kicks off an exciting month that culminates with the Isle of Man TT. We wait all year for it to arrive, and in a flash it is over. The post-tt blues can be difficult to shake, even this far down the line.
Fortunately, the good people at Duke Video have already started getting this year’s road racing action onto DVD. On offer right now is the official review of the 2018 NW200 and the Top 20 Greatest TT Riders Ever programme.
As always, the NW200 review is just the highlights programmes shown on
BBC television and on other broadcasters repackaged under the Real Road Races banner. Highlights of all eight races, accompanied by commentary from
Steve Parrish and Richard Nichols, fill up the two-hour run time.
Naturally, the footage is spectacular and reliving the races is still just as thrilling as the first time you watched them. Some brief rider features are littered throughout the highlights, although these could have been reserved for the extra features section, if at least to beef up the meagre offering of a Supersport and Supertwins onboard lap.
While the die-hards likely buying this will be clued up on how the NW200 played out, the review does rely heavily on assumed knowledge. Rider and team changes are scarcely mentioned. The reason for the injured John Mcguinness’ absence isn’t covered, nor why Peter Hickman wasn’t allowed to contest the Supersport races. A brief round-up of what happened in qualifying practice could easily have covered this off, while also adding some context to how the races developed in the end.
Some iffy editing, with chunks of laps and key moments cut at times, and cues to return after advert breaks, spoil the experience somewhat. But this is still a decent package and one that allows you to look at how ultimately the TT shaped up.
DVD TOP 20 GREATEST TT RIDERS EVER RRP £14.99
The Top 20 Greatest TT Riders Ever DVD is the same programme that aired during ITV4’S TT build-up coverage, and as such nothing new is presented to you with this release. However, this is still an enjoyable, if underwhelming, hour or so of television.
Voted for by the fans, the list is, for the most part, pretty agreeable. The top of the pile is occupied by those you would expect: 26-time TT winner Joey Dunlop, 23-time
“GUY MARTIN’S INCLUSION SHOWS THE PROBLEM WITH FANS VOTING”
victor Mcguinness and Mike Hailwood, who won 14 times. The likes of Ian Hutchinson, Michael Dunlop, Steve Hislop and David Jeffries make the top 10.
Guy Martin’s inclusion at the number eight spot highlights the problem with fan votes, however. His 17 podiums are nothing to be sniffed at, but it’s not enough to merit being placed higher than the likes of multiple winners and undeniable legends Giacomo Agostini, John Surtees, Geoff Duke and Phillip Mccallen.
Crammed into 50 minutes, each rider doesn’t get much attention. But the archive footage on display and the insight from riders past and present on each entrant is worth the price of admission. However, the real highlight comes in the DVD’S extras: replays of the epic 1992 Senior TT, the 2000 Formula 1 race and 2005 Senior.
Neither DVD offers anything revelatory to the road racing enthusiast and both are pretty barebones in their main features.
But they are still worthy of an afternoon in front of the television, and the sheer spectacle of the NW200’S racing and the 20 Greatest Riders’ archive footage will almost certainly keep those post-tt blues at bay.