Meet the 'daredevils' of eastern Ontario's demolition derby circuit
CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning | CBC News | Posted: September 6, 2017 4:00 PM | Last Updated: September 6, 2017
Lea Pascal's new documentary series follows 6 competitors from Prescott-Russell
It's the season for fall fairs around eastern Ontario — and one of the main attractions is always the demolition derby.
But if you've ever wondered what compels drivers to violently smash themselves into one another, Lea Pascal's new documentary series might be for you.
Le Choc des Bolides — roughly translated as "smashing cars" — follows the lives of six demolition derby enthusiasts from around Prescott-Russell, Ont. It's currently airing on Canal D, a Bell Media specialty channel.
"They are very passionate. It's like the boys who love to play hockey," Pascal told CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning. "They spend hours and hours in their garage, during the evening, during the weekend. Because all of these people have full-time jobs."
"Sometimes the wife is forced to like the sport, if she wants to see their husband! And the children, they love it."
While many demolition derby participants are young men, Le Choc des Bolides also follows one competitor in his mid-to-late 50s, as well as one of the relatively few female drivers on the eastern Ontario circuit.
Pascal said she was drawn to the sport — and the drivers do indeed think of demolition derby as a sport, she noted — because of the competitors' bizarre compulsion to crash.
'They love the adrenaline rush'
"When we're driving our own cars, that's the last thing we want to do, to smash the other car. But these people do it purposely! And sometimes they hurt themselves. But they love the adrenaline rush. They love their sport."
And it's certainly that jolt of adrenaline — not the money — that draws people to the sport. At most, the top prize is around $200 per competition, said Pascal, while some derbies simply pay the winners in cold beer.
Beyond a helmet, safety measures are minimal at best, she added. But for the competitors she interviewed, the danger was all part of the attraction.
"If they were thinking too much about the risk, they would not do it," she said. "They don't care. They are daredevils!"