Motorcycle races are dangerous and although it sounds raw, death always stalks. But if those races are on the road, death plays a much more protagonist. Approaching how everything is managed is what is behind the new documentary “Ride or die” that the BBC already has available on its BBC IPlayer platform.
The new documentary seeks to get to the bottom of the question of why a person is able to risk absolutely everything to compete on the road. A question that many are asked, and for which “Ride or Die” seeks answer with three pilots as protagonists.
Everything revolves around the preparation for the North West 200, one of the most emblematic “Road Races” and the second in importance after the MAN TT, for which it serves as preparation. The career played in Northern Ireland is not as well known as the TT, but it is equally dangerous, since the maximum speeds are similar, the existent escapes and the errors or problems are paid expensive.
Lee Johnston, Maria Costello and Kevin Keyes are the protagonists of “Ride or Die”
To get closer to this reality there are three leading pilots in this story. On the one hand we have the pilot who has “escaped” from death, Lee Johnston, who during the documentary focuses on his recovery after the serious accident that almost costs his life in 2023, and physical and mental work to try to compete again.
In another plane we find Maria Costello, one of the few women who compete in the road races and who after losing their mother, competing again becomes a greater importance to be able to cope with that loss.
And finally is Kevin Keyes, who is the veteran rookie in all this situation. And it is that despite their veteran in what the British call short circuits, and we permanent circuits, approaches that new adventure.
Between all three and thanks to the work done in “Ride or Die” you can see everything behind it before reaching the competition, preparation, training and, of course, the big difference between races in permanent or road circuits.
The bad news is that for now it is only available on BBC IPlayer and both the application and the web are only available to enjoy in the United Kingdom.
