You may have seen the movies Faster or The Doctor, The Tornado and the Kentucky Kid or Nicky Hayden’s MTV movie The Kentucky Kid, but almost 40 years ago another documentary movie about racing was produced by French director Jérome Laperrousaz called the Continental Circus.
It’s the true life story of this sport before the intrusion of money, sponsors with focus on Australian rider Jack Findlay and reflects on the life conditions of all private motorcycle riders in that time with Giacomo Agostini appearing as a prefiguration of what we experience today in motorsport (and also in the other sports).
So take a look at this video clip from the movie and and wonder how these heroic motorcyle riders lived and raced before big name sponsors, where rider safety did not include full face helmets, titanium weaved leathers and the bikes didn’t have traction or launch control and chattering was something yet to be invented.