Helmets – Motorcycle film: a dive into the Tourist Trophy through the visor –

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Motorcycle film: a dive into the Tourist Trophy through the visor

Helmets - Motorcycle film: a dive into the Tourist Trophy through the visor -

In a documentary film entitled "Through the visor, Isle of Man TT 2018", the Japanese helmet manufacturer Arai signs a captivating and very human immersion in the world of the Tourist Trophy, the most famous motorcycle road race….

The Tourist Trophy. A race of six 60 km laps completed at an average of 200 km / h on the Isle of Man … Maximum commitment, minimum margin of error: the slightest mistake is paid in cash, as the long list unfortunately illustrates pilots and spectators died since the first edition in 1907 (more than 250 dead).

  • MNC of June 12, 2018 : Record wins for Hickman at the Senior TT 
  • MNC special file : Everything about the Tourist Trophy 2018 

"You can’t train for something like that", certifies Lee Johnston – portrait below – as a preamble to the film "Through the visor, Isle of Man TT 2018", a new 19-minute documentary – subtitled in French – produced by the European subsidiary of the helmet manufacturer Arai. 

For this 28-year-old driver – winner of the North West 200 and Ulster Grand Prix! -, the Tourist Trophy is "the biggest race in the world and I absolutely want to win it. Why? Certainly not for the money. It has nothing even to do with that: it is for the love of racing. Here , we feel free ", he confides with touching honesty.

And it is this successful exploration of the human aspect that makes all the salt of this film: "Through the visor" (through the visor) offers a striking immersion in the approach of the various actors of the Tourist Trophy, motorcycle riders such as Lee Johnston or Michael Dunlop (18 victories in TT) to team leaders, through the famous marshals.

Helmets - Motorcycle film: a dive into the Tourist Trophy through the visor -

But also – and this is rarer – by shedding light on side-carists like the Birchall brothers, who have eight TT victories on their streamlined car like an F1. Impossible to remain impassive when the "monkey" Tom Birchal explains his way of approaching the course, totally hidden in his basket, therefore without seeing the road and its dangers (proof above on the right) !

"Treat this place with respect"

The risk ratio, in fact, is approached with remarkable accuracy and sincerity, without boasting or morbidity. Everyone is aware of the multiple traps set by the "Snaefell Moutain" and the importance of approaching it with total humility..

Helmets - Motorcycle film: a dive into the Tourist Trophy through the visor -

“You can’t come in here, lower the visor and go for 193 km / h: that’s not how it works,” said Marshal Jonny Heginbotham. "Each turn is different, with each turn something changes: you have to treat this place with respect, because it is fantastic but also cruel". 

MNC, who took the roads of "Titi" in and – out of competition! – can testify: the dangerousness of this "circuit" is permanent because of its length and the different profiles of turns and bitumen. Not to mention the weather variations typical of Great Britain and those curbs that seem to be waiting to break your neck … All this requires perfect self-control and a precise and responsive reading of the terrain..

This documentary also underlines how the specter of the fatal accident haunts all minds, including that of a pilot of the level of Lee Johnston. He wonders for example if the man who taps them on the shoulder to signal the departure is aware of being sometimes the last to touch a pilot … Difficult not to repress a thrill at this moment of the film.

Helmets - Motorcycle film: a dive into the Tourist Trophy through the visor -

"You can not afford to think too much about the risk", answers shortly after the head of departures, Paul Kermode, a phlegmatic sixty-year-old who recounts how difficult it was for him to go for a drink with the members of the team. of a driver who had just died in the race. Again, an angel passes…

"Through the visor" also returns to the importance of the traditions of the Tourist Trophy, such as that of entrusting young scouts with the task of communicating the times achieved via slates. These times are then indicated on the antique display board, a thousand miles from modern digital screens. As if time has stood still on the Isle of Man…

The weather maybe, but certainly not the performances: remember that the winner of the 2018 edition of the Senior TT, Peter Hickman on the BMW S1000RR, established the by completing his last lap at an average of 217.989 km / h (16 ‘ ’42 .778). Spectacular and terrifying, just like the Tourist Trophy !

Video Through the visor – Isle of Man TT 2018

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