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1973: Race of the Power Bikes | Tuesday Documentary | BBC Archive
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May 30, 2026
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May 30, 2026
289,642
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49:33Now PlayingThe Compulsion to Win: A story of personal tension, centred around the Formula 750cc motorcycle race held on the Isle of Man during TT week.
Tuesday Documentary watches the progress and tries to understand the motivation of two racers, their mechanics, managers, and wives. For these men are determined to contest, complete and conquer the most dangerous race circuit in the world. A contest that has already taken the lives of over 100 men.
Peter Williams is the number 1 rider of the John Player Norton team and also the team's research and development engineer, who is tasked with returning the Norton to its former racing glory. Norton's number 2 is the larger than life Dave Croxford - a former plumber, painter and poodle clipper. Metal worker John Stewart is also preparing a bike for his first ever TT, endlessly tuning and tweaking a production Norton for rider Graham Bentman. For John Stewart's team, the training track is a short, potted strip of road through the local allotments.
Clip taken from Tuesday Documentary: Race of the Power Bikes, originally broadcast on BBC One, 7 August, 1973.
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