I grew up watching road racing, both in person and on TV. My town held a local race, and I witnessed some breathtaking and horrific things there. And until the age of 16, I thought I wanted to be a road racer before a friend wise beyond his years talked me out of pursuing it. Even with all that time spent consuming the sport, I don’t feel like I fully understand the mindset required to be a full-time road racer.
So, whenever an opportunity comes about to gain an insight into the minds of the riders that compete in the most dangerous two-wheeled sport on earth, I jump at it. And if you’re like me, you have reason to get excited, courtesy of the BBC.
‘Ride or Die’ is a DoubleBand Films production that aired on BBC One across the UK on April 10th. But the chances are that you’re not in the UK and that you missed the airing, but worry not, because it’s available to view on demand on BBC iPlayer.
The documentary follows three riders in the weeks leading up to the 2024 North West 200 (NW200): Lee Johnston, Maria Costello, and Kevin Keyes.
The NW200 doesn’t have the international recognition of the Isle of Man TT, but to those in the road racing community, it’s arguably the second-biggest spectacle of the year. It has claimed the lives of some of the best-known racers in the sport, including Robert Dunlop, and left others lucky to escape with their lives. It’s one of the best races to try to tap into a rider’s mind and understand why they compete, and what should make this documentary especially interesting is the diversity of riders it follows.
Lee Johnston is a 5-time winner of the NW200 who had a near-fatal accident in 2023 but tries to prepare himself, nonetheless, for the event. If Johnston is the old hat at the NW200, Kevin Keyes is the young upstart of the series. Keyes has a healthy list of short circuit accolades to his name first foray into road racing was in 2022.
The contrast between Johnston and Keyes is sure to highlight two different perspectives when it comes to road racing, but Maria Costello’s might be the most interesting of the lot.
Costello is one of the most well-known female faces in road racing, having competed for 30 years, but like many road racers, it was often in direct defiance of one or both parents. In Costello’s case, her mother didn’t want her to compete in road racing. But, after recently losing her mother to cancer, Costello has a whole new perspective and drive to go back to racing.
Regardless of who you identify with the most, this documentary sounds like it’s set to provide a breadth of insight rarely seen in road racing.
