Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The Compulsion to Win: A story of personal tension, centred around the Formula 750cc motorcycle race held on the Isle of Man during TT week.
Tuesday Documentary watches the progress and tries to understand the motivation of two racers, their mechanics, managers, and wives. For these men are determined to contest, complete and conquer the most dangerous race circuit in the world. A contest that has already taken the lives of over 100 men.
Peter Williams is the number 1 rider of the John Player Norton team and also the team's research and development engineer, who is tasked with returning the Norton to its former racing glory. Norton's number 2 is the larger than life Dave Croxford - a former plumber, painter and poodle clipper. Metal worker John Stewart is also preparing a bike for his first ever TT, endlessly tuning and tweaking a production Norton for rider Graham Bentman. For John Stewart's team, the training track is a short, potted strip of road through the local allotments.
Clip taken from Tuesday Documentary: Race of the Power Bikes, originally broadcast on BBC One, 7 August, 1973.
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The Compulsion to Win: A story of personal tension, centred around the Formula 750cc motorcycle race held on the Isle of Man during TT week.
Tuesday Documentary watches the progress and tries to understand the motivation of two racers, their mechanics, managers, and wives. For these men are determined to contest, complete and conquer the most dangerous race circuit in the world. A contest that has already taken the lives of over 100 men.
Peter Williams is the number 1 rider of the John Player Norton team and also the team's research and development engineer, who is tasked with returning the Norton to its former racing glory. Norton's number 2 is the larger than life Dave Croxford - a former plumber, painter and poodle clipper. Metal worker John Stewart is also preparing a bike for his first ever TT, endlessly tuning and tweaking a production Norton for rider Graham Bentman. For John Stewart's team, the training track is a short, potted strip of road through the local allotments.
Clip taken from Tuesday Documentary: Race of the Power Bikes, originally broadcast on BBC One, 7 August, 1973.
You have now entered the BBC Archive, a time machine that will transport you back to the golden age of TV to educate, entertain and enlighten you with classic clips from the BBC vaults.
Make sure you subscribe so that you never miss a single stop on our amazing journey through the BBC Archive - youtube.com/c/BBCArchive?sub_confirmation=1
You can also dive into plenty more BBC Archive on our website - bbc.co.uk/archive
