Full Throttle

It took me quite a while to track down a DVD of this TV docudrama. Rowan Atkinson is a good choice for Birkin as he bears some physical resemblance and is also a classic car nut. He manages (almost) to suppress his comedic tendencies! The cars all look genuine and aren't too "showroom" in appearance. Although the use of what remains of the real Brooklands for some racing shots, it would have been better to use eg Rockingham (for the banked track)as although Brooklands was renowned for being bumpy in period, it wasn't anywhere near the ploughed field the remaining bits are now! The other racing scenes eg LeMans, Ards, are quite convincing albeit a bit obviously done on the local disused airfield. Well worth seeking out if you can find it.

By the way, the poster illustrated above is for a quite different movie!