Faster is a 2003 documentary film

Documentary film

Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...

 about the motorcycle road racing

Motorcycle racing

Motorcycle sport is a broad field that encompasses all sporting aspects of motorcycling. The disciplines are not all "races" or timed-speed events, as several disciplines test a competitor's various riding skills.-Motorcycle racing:...

 world championship, MotoGP. Filmed between 2001 and 2002 by director Mark Neale

Mark Neale

Mark Neale is a British documentarian and film director based in Los Angeles, California. His best known work is the 1999 documentary No Maps for These Territories, which profiled cyberpunk author William Gibson. Prior to No Maps, Neale had been an acclaimed music video director, making videos for...

, it features cinematography by music video

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

 director Grant Gee

Grant Gee

Grant Gee is a film director and cinematographer currently living in Brighton. He was born in Plymouth and studied Geography at St Catherine's College, Oxford....

 and is narrated by Ewan McGregor

Ewan McGregor

Ewan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor. He has had success in mainstream, indie, and art house films. McGregor is perhaps best known for his roles as heroin addict Mark Renton in the drama Trainspotting , young Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy , and poet Christian in the...

. It was succeeded by The Doctor, The Tornado and The Kentucky Kid.

Overview

The film spotlights the MotoGP world championship, the premiere level of motorcycle road racing, which is a series of sixteen races on five continents contested by twenty-four riders. The film includes appearances by Valentino Rossi

Valentino Rossi

Valentino Rossi, , is an Italian professional motorcycle racer and multiple MotoGP World Champion. He is one of the most successful motorcycle racers of all time, with nine Grand Prix World Championships to his name – seven of which are in the premier class.Following his father, Graziano Rossi,...

, Max Biaggi

Max Biaggi

Massimiliano "Max" Biaggi is an Italian motorcycle racer and winner of the 2010 World Superbike Championship. Throughout this racing career, he has won the 250cc World Championship four times, and finished as runner-up in both the 500cc and MotoGP championships...

, Australian veteran Garry McCoy

Garry McCoy

Garry McCoy is a professional motorcycle racer. He has won races in the 125 cc and 500 cc World Championships, as well as in the Superbike World Championship. He is noted for his oversteering style of riding, earning him the nickname "The Slide King".McCoy was born in Sydney...

, and young American John Hopkins

John Hopkins (motorcycle racer)

John "Hopper" Hopkins is an American motorcycle racer currently racing in the British Superbike Championship . Hopkins has raced previously in MotoGP, AMA Superbike Championship, and Superbike World Championship. He first raced in MotoGP in 2002 for the Red Bull Yamaha WCM team on a two-stroke...

. Several former world champions are interviewed, including Mick Doohan, Kevin Schwantz

Kevin Schwantz

Kevin Schwantz is an American former World Champion motorcycle road racer during the late 1980s and early 1990s.-Early life:...

, paralyzed former racer Wayne Rainey

Wayne Rainey

Wayne Wesley Rainey, born in Downey, California, United States, is a former American Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, he won the 500cc World Championship three times and the Daytona 200 once. He was characterized by his smooth, calculating riding...

, Kenny Roberts

Kenny Roberts

Kenneth Leroy Roberts is a former motorcycle racer and racing team owner. In 1978, he became the first American to win a Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championship. He was also a two-time winner of the A.M.A. Grand National Championship...

, and Barry Sheene

Barry Sheene

Barry Stephen Frank Sheene MBE was a British World Champion Grand Prix motorcycle road racer.-Early life:...

.

The film was produced by Los Angeles-based Spark Productions in association with Dorna Sports SL

Dorna Sports

Dorna Sports, S.L. is the commercial rights holder for the motorcycling sport of MotoGP.Established in 1988 as an international sports management and marketing company, it is headquartered in Madrid, with offices in Barcelona, London and Tokyo...

, the rights-holder for MotoGP, and shot around the world between 2001 and 2002. It was executive produced by Neale, Ian MacLean, and Chris Paine

Chris Paine

Chris Paine is an American filmmaker. His most notable works to date as director are the documentaries Who Killed the Electric Car? and Revenge of the Electric Car.-Career:...

.

The film premiered at Cannes

Cannes

Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....

 in 2003.

Notable Appearances

• Max Biaggi
  Max Biaggi
  Massimiliano "Max" Biaggi is an Italian motorcycle racer and winner of the 2010 World Superbike Championship. Throughout this racing career, he has won the 250cc World Championship four times, and finished as runner-up in both the 500cc and MotoGP championships...
  
  
• Loris Capirossi
  Loris Capirossi
  Loris Capirossi is a retired Italian Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, who competed between and...
  
  
• Carlos Checa
  Carlos Checa
  Carlos "Charlie" Checa is a professional motorcycle road racer and winner of the 2011 Superbike World Championship. After racing in 500cc and MotoGP for over a decade, mostly on Honda and Yamaha machinery with and without full manufacturer support, he moved to the Superbike World Championship on a...
  
  
• Mick Doohan
• Colin Edwards
  Colin Edwards
  Colin Edwards II nicknamed the Texas Tornado is an American professional motorcycle racer. He is a two time World Superbike champion and has competed in MotoGP since 2003, now riding for the Yamaha Tech 3 team in the 2011 season.-Early years:At the age of three, his Australian father, Colin...
  
  
• Noriyuki Haga
  Noriyuki Haga
  , is a Japanese professional motorcycle racer. Haga has been runner-up in the Superbike World Championship three times, and has finished 3rd in the series four times....
  
  
• Nicky Hayden
  Nicky Hayden
  Nicholas "Nicky" Patrick Hayden , nicknamed the The Kentucky Kid, is an American professional motorcycle racer, who won the MotoGP World Championship in 2006.-Beginnings and AMA Championship:...
  
  
• John Hopkins
  John Hopkins (motorcycle racer)
  John "Hopper" Hopkins is an American motorcycle racer currently racing in the British Superbike Championship . Hopkins has raced previously in MotoGP, AMA Superbike Championship, and Superbike World Championship. He first raced in MotoGP in 2002 for the Red Bull Yamaha WCM team on a two-stroke...
  
  
• Eddie Lawson
  Eddie Lawson
  Eddie Lawson is a former four-time Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champion. His penchant for not crashing & consistently finishing in the points earned him the nickname "Steady Eddie".-Biography:...
  
  
• Randy Mamola
  Randy Mamola
  Randy Mamola born in San Jose, California is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He is considered one of the most talented riders never to have won a world championship.-Career:...
  
  
• Garry McCoy
  Garry McCoy
  Garry McCoy is a professional motorcycle racer. He has won races in the 125 cc and 500 cc World Championships, as well as in the Superbike World Championship. He is noted for his oversteering style of riding, earning him the nickname "The Slide King".McCoy was born in Sydney...
  
  
• Shinya Nakano
  Shinya Nakano
  is a retired Japanese Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Superbike rider. He is not related to the former Formula One racer Shinji Nakano.-Early years:...
  
  
• Kenny Roberts
  Kenny Roberts
  Kenneth Leroy Roberts is a former motorcycle racer and racing team owner. In 1978, he became the first American to win a Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championship. He was also a two-time winner of the A.M.A. Grand National Championship...
  
  
• Wayne Rainey
  Wayne Rainey
  Wayne Wesley Rainey, born in Downey, California, United States, is a former American Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, he won the 500cc World Championship three times and the Daytona 200 once. He was characterized by his smooth, calculating riding...
  
  
• Valentino Rossi
  Valentino Rossi
  Valentino Rossi, , is an Italian professional motorcycle racer and multiple MotoGP World Champion. He is one of the most successful motorcycle racers of all time, with nine Grand Prix World Championships to his name – seven of which are in the premier class.Following his father, Graziano Rossi,...
  
  
• Kevin Schwantz
  Kevin Schwantz
  Kevin Schwantz is an American former World Champion motorcycle road racer during the late 1980s and early 1990s.-Early life:...
  
  
• Barry Sheene
  Barry Sheene
  Barry Stephen Frank Sheene MBE was a British World Champion Grand Prix motorcycle road racer.-Early life:...
  
  

DVD

The film was released as a 2-disc DVD on November 16, 2004. In addition to the movie, extras include on-board camera footage from actual races, and a short sequel film called "Faster & Faster" on events after 2003 and the early stages of the 2004 season which mainly focused on Valentino Rossi's transition from Honda to Yamaha.