sidecar enthusiast and sponsor Christopher Beauman first devised the idea of a reality show in the Isle of Man TT paddocks hoping to promote sidecar racing to a wider audience, in order to increase sponsorship potential for the competitors. Development began in early 2015 with Greenlight International handling sales and distribution. Using early concept footage shot during the TT and Southern 100 2015, a teaser-trailer was screened during an interview with Dave Molyneux at the TT Press Launch in April 2016, and on the film's official Facebook page. Despite the impromptu nature of observational documentary production, the filmmakers were able to loosely script and plan for almost-any eventuality within the film's story due to the rigid structure of the event. The filmmakers hoped to capture the raw emotions present at the TT, commenting that 3 Wheeling is "not a documentary, it's a movie - it just so happens that it's all happening for real."
Production
The Department of Economic Development provided support in allowing the production company access to restricted zones at the TT Grandstand, and principal photography took place during racing period of 2016 with Dave Molyneux, Tim Reeves and Klaus Klaffenböck attached to star. Manx-Based company Blue Olive Productions captured original footage on Canon DSLRs, GoPros and the Osmo camcorder, with racing footage filmed and licensed by North One Television. The camera-crew described the filming technique as "invisibly intrusive" and admitted that it took several days to develop a suitable method of capturing the action close-up, without affecting the race-team's concentration. Beaumanx Productions sponsored Dave Molyneux Racing in order to secure the publicity-shy racer. The film's director stated that Molyneux's dislike for the limelight made 3 Wheeling difficult to film, but acknowledged that it allowed them to portray Molyneux as a "...brilliant character..." with "...a tremendous screen-presence...". Second Unit was filmed during the Southern 100 and Manx Grand Prix 2016, and the movie took ten months to complete.
Release
The official trailer was previewed at the TT Press Launch in March 2017 and the film was premiered at the Villa Marina on 7 May. Most of the film's stars were in attendance; Reeves and Klaffenböck were unable to attend due to racing seasons commitments. The film was then released in theatres in Northern Ireland, Germany, and the Isle of Man.
Reception
The film's official Facebook page has amassed 1.2 million page-likes via its viral marketing campaign. Manx Radio's TT commentary team were treated to an advanced screening of the film, and praised how successfully the atmosphere of the TT was captured and portrayed. Tim Glover noted the strength of the characters telling the story as opposed to a narrator, and considered the start-line scene from race one as one of the film's highlight, citing the sound design and powerful subject matter as Reeves said goodbye to his family as the standout moment of the film. Dave Christian said "You don't have to be a racing fan to watch that, it was an amazing piece of film" and Roy Moore remarked that he believed the public would flock in their droves to watch the film. In September 2018, the film opened the Toronto Motorcycle Film Festival supported by Harley-Davidson and was screened at London Fields Brewery as part of the Fuelled Moto Film Fest in August 2018.
