Champion Mick Doohan [DVD]

A real trip down memory lane

This survey of Mick Doohan’s life and motorcycle racing career was originally made in 1996, by which time he had won three Grand Prix World Championships with more still to come. Out of a total time of 70 minutes, the first forty are a bit dull, consisting mainly of Mick talking and travelling for much of the time and showing very little racing. We only see short racing clips, with no dicing or overtaking, but instead typically showing one bloke leading a race, and then another bloke in the lead a couple of laps later with nothing to show us how he got there. The talking parts are not too bad, because Mick comes over as a decent bloke with a modest, unassuming manner, and altogether he is quite engaging to listen to.The last twenty minutes or so are somewhat livelier because here we see more racing from 1995 and 1996, with plenty of exciting dices with the likes of Alex Criville. But the film quality is rather grainy, and the tone is lowered near the end as we watch Doohan pick an argument with Criville after they had touched and both crashed on the final lap at Phillip Island. In truth that was considered as a genuine racing incident and neither rider was sanctioned for it. Mick would have looked better if the argument had been left out of the footage.Mick Doohan’s achievements in bike racing were formidable, especially in view of the serious injuries he suffered early in his career. That story is well told here, and his fans will certainly find moments to enjoy in this film; but be warned that only a very few minutes of it show him doing what he did best.