(New Zealand, 2005, PG adult themes)

In English and German, with English subtitles

"In motorcycle racing circles Kim Newcombe is remembered as the New Zealander who came second in
the 1973 World 500 Grand Prix Championship. He’s also famous for the bike he rode, which he developed
himself, using the engine from an outboard motor, then refined for the German manufacturer Dieter Konig
who became his friend and mentor. Justin Pemberton’s documentary portrait is a showcase for the
Super 8 footage shot by Janeen, Newcombe’s childhood sweetheart, then wife. These films of action on
and off the racetrack conjure up the romance and hard-scramble that characterised life for a young couple
travelling the continent on the World Championship Road Racing circuit in the swinging 70s. Newcombe’s
friends and colleagues provide anecdotal testimony to his geniality and his obsession with racing, but
what’s most unusual about this film is the way in which the dashing figure in the old movies registers as
a phantom. Janeen became a widow at a very young age and this portrait of youth, vitality and sporting
obsession is filtered through her enduring sense of loss." — Bill Gosden, New Zealand International Film Festival

"Produced by Visionary Film and TV Ltd. and directed by Justin Pemberton, Love, Speed and Loss is a
documentary about motorcycle racer Kim Newcombe, who raced a König motorcycle in the 500cc GPs
in the 1970s. Newcombe was killed while racing in 1973, the same year which also claimed the lives
of two other motorcycle racers – Renzo Pasolini and Jarno Saarinen. Newcombe finished second
(posthumously) in that year's 500cc motorcycle GP racing world championship, which was won
by Phil Read. Born in 1944 in the town of Nelson, in New Zealand, Kim Newcombe moved to Australia
in 1963 and subsequently to Europe in 1968. Along with fellow racer, John Dodds, he developed a racing
motorcycle using a four-cylinder, two-stroke, liquid-cooled boat engine designed by Dieter König. The
engine was mated to a Manx Norton’s gearbox and clutch. Coming back to the film, Love, Speed and Loss
is an in-depth look at Newcombe’s life and features racing footage, interviews with Newcombe’s wife Janeen and much more."
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Credits:
Production Company: Visionary Film and TV Ltd.
Director: Justin Pemberton
Producer: Richard Driver
Photography: DJ Stipsen
Editor: Bryan Shaw
Music: Anika Moa, Jason Smith