On The Ragged Edge (glimpses of the 1974 road race season)

This is the first 10min of my never-finished 1974 road-racing epic. Shot on super-8 cine film, it is regrettably silent. I did shoot audio with it, but the technology of the day was unwieldy and I never striped any audio. I still have a couple of reels of the live sound recordings, maybe someday I'll produce a cut-down but complete film with sound. On this film you will see legendary bikes - the MV 500-4, the Yamaha 500-4 and 700-4, the Suzuki RG500, the tiny Kreidler. Racers you will spot include Stan Woods, Charlie Williams, Dieter Braun, Paul Smart, Kel Carruthers, Teppi Lansivouri, Gianfranco Bonera, John Williams, Phil Read, Dave Croxford, Giacomo Agostini, Kenny Roberts Snr, Barry Sheene, Mick Grant, Tony Rutter and Billie Nelson (anyone who spots a rider I've not mentioned, please post the name on here) The footage is a mixture of shots taken in 1974 at Mallory Park (the Race of the Year), Assen, (the Dutch TT), Spa Francorchamps (the Belgian GP) and the Isle of Man TT of course. The sequence was supposed to reflect the progression of a race event, from pits through startline to various race scenarios - hence the location chops around a lot. Some of the most entertaining shots are at La Source when it was just before the start/finish, rather than just after it as now. The race is the 250cc Belgian GP and it was the closest finish in years. The four leading riders circulated in close company for the whole race, and they kept tripping over each other at La Source...