A DOCUMENTARY about a Scottish team is gaining global attention and creating new fans of a minority sport.

In The Red features the riders, volunteers and supporters of Glasgow Tigers speedway team and has been selected by 10 international film festivals, nominated for four awards and has just been named Best Sports Documentary Feature at the FFTG Awards in New York.

It has also gained 30,000 views on YouTube and the director’s cut can now be seen on Apple TV.

Its creator, 24-year-old Patrick Rooney, is surprised and delighted by the response to the film which he made to try to make people more aware of the thrills and spills of the sport which sees riders racing round dirt tracks at 70mph on motorbikes with no brakes.

The film documents a number of accidents including that of 15-year-old Sam Norris who was competing in a youth championship at the Glasgow track when he crashed, suffering a brain injury that left him in a coma for five days and meant he had to relearn how to walk and talk.

“Fortunately he is recovering well and is hoping to ride again soon,” said Rooney who is originally from Perthshire but now lives in Glasgow.

He decided to make the film after he came across the sport by chance when he was driving through Possilpark and saw the speedway stadium bedecked with images of motorcyclists.

Intrigued, he went along to see what it was all about and became instantly hooked.

Filmed during the Tiger’s 2019 season, In the Red was finished at the start of the year when the intention was to take it to a couple of TV shows.

However when the pandemic hit the UK, Rooney, who runs Dear Friend Films, decided to make it freely available on YouTube.

“I thought it was best to put it out free because I knew people would be sitting at home and would need some entertainment but I am surprised at how well it has done,” he said.

“I thought it might be seen as a bit of a niche subject but it has been seen by a wide audience and even people who are not into sport have said they really enjoyed it.

“I think the volunteers’ and fans’ stories have hooked people because they are so passionate. There are some amazing characters and some really interesting Glasgow stories.”

In The Red looks at every aspect of the sport from the fan who has his own track in his back garden, to the dramatic on-track brawl that made headlines across the speedway world and the highs of the club making the league play-offs for the fifth consecutive season.

The film also features the massive overhaul the club has gone through at the hands of the Facenna family, owners of Allied Vehicles which is based just a stone’s throw from the club’s home at Ashfield Stadium in Possilpark.

Rooney is hoping it will be selected for more film festivals next year. The 10 that his director’s cut have been shown at already include the British Urban Film Festival, Toronto Motorcycle Film Festival, the Los Angeles Lift-Off Film Festival and the Sweden Film Awards.

“It’s an amazing feeling to have it selected for 10 film festivals internationally,” he said.

“To make a film that people seem to enjoy and react so positively to all around the world is really one of the ultimate goals you can have as a filmmaker – it’s something that I’ll never forget and am very humbled by.”

The Tigers have not been racing at all in 2020 after the pandemic forced the cancellation of this year’s league campaign. The club have confirmed they aim to return in 2021.

In The Red can be seen free on the Glasgow Tigers YouTube channel