Steve McQueen: Desert Racer

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• 2015
• 0 hr 49 mins
• Documentary, Sports

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• Watchlist

In this fast-paced hour long biopic documentary, Director Jon Brewer unearths the fascinating story that is the undercurrent of film icon Steve McQueen's favourite past time as a desert motorbike racer and hidden talents that are generally unknown. More specifically, his obsession with motorbikes and the invention of the racing bike which was the by-product of his relationship with Stunt Double Bud Ekins and the film they were in together, 'The Great Escape'. As the two men shared their enthusiasm for motorbikes, it was a natural progression for them to work together in Bud's motorbike shop in California, fixing , tinkering and riding, and working to improve performance. This brought about their concept of combining a Metisse frame and a Triumph engine for a new track racing bike. McQueen decided to take this model to England where he met up with the Rickman brothers of Metisse motorbikes, and the 'Desert Racer' was soon born. Decades on, Chad McQueen, Steve's son, authorised the model for reproduction of the 'Desert Racer', and 300 of these Limited Edition motorbikes have been handcrafted by a small company out of Oxfordshire. Narrated by Charlie Boorman, this documentary is packed with precious archive photos and footage, and includes interviews with Chad McQueen, the creator of the replica, and others germane to the story of this side of Steve McQueen's hidden passion.