Joey Dunlop's story is one of towering triumphs and desperate tragedies in almost equal measure.
Born poor - dirt poor - with no running water, no electricity, he was the definition of the everyman hero, earning the title 'King of the Roads' in what must be considered one of the world's most extreme sports - motorcycle road racing. And as well as being voted Northern Ireland's greatest ever sportsman, he remains the most loved and most successful road racer of all time.
Joey Dunlop won the hearts and minds of millions during his thirty-one-year career, culminating in his greatest triumph in the year 2000 at the Isle of Man TT when, grey-haired, bespectacled, and approaching fifty years of age, he reclaimed his reputation as the greatest TT rider in history by defeating a whole new generation of talent and regaining the F1 crown for the first time in twelve years.
But in road racing, tragedy is never very far away. Joey lost his life in a racing accident in July of 2000. It was just weeks after his final TT victory. More than 60,000 people attended Joey's funeral. Over twenty years after his untimely death, the sport has never truly recovered from his loss.
Everyone with an interest in motorcycling knows the legend of Joey Dunlop but now, for the first time, they can get to know the man himself. This definitive new biography is the most comprehensive ever written on the man. In turns hilarious, triumphant and tragic, this is Dunlop's story as it has never been told before - by those who were part of it.
The Road Racers DVD, The Armoy of the 1970s, captured in this film, is certainly different...
With ‘The Road Racers,’ Academy Award winning director David Wallace pays witness to a moment in motorsport history that continues to influence motorcycle road racing in the most profound ways.
The mundane: selling cars, digging turf, herding cattle, fixing bikes. The sublime: the vicious crackle of racing engines at full power disturbing the milk round during "unofficial practice", rider’s-eye view of racing on roads barely wide-enough to take a car. This film authentically captures the lives of Joey Dunlop, Mervyn Robinson and Frank Kennedy at the height of the ‘Armoy Armada’.
Wallace’s film skilfully documents the hectic Irish roads season starting at the North West 200 - the British Isles' fastest motorcycle race - through the Cookstown 100 to the finale at Carrowdore.
This highly acclaimed production takes you behind the scenes as the road racers prepare to tackle the dangerous public roads races - and allows you an insight into the emotional side of racing too.