Jeff Rayburn, an American surfer visiting Australia, gets involved in the world of sidecar motorcycle racing.

the sense of fun, a certain recklessness, energy and the desire to win" and wanted to make a film with the sport as a backdrop.

He says Universal were keen to make lower budgeted films aimed at the youth audience in the wake of the success of American Graffiti (1973) – although he remains unsure why they picked him to write the script since he was in his fifties at the time.

Cleary decided to make the lead character a former surfboard rider because of the aerobatic skills needed to be a sidecar racer.

[3] Shooting began in March 1974 with race sequences shot at the Sydney Showground and Mount Panorama.