Customer Reviews

Race to Dakar

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I got this for Christmas and was quite excited. I've watched LONG WAY'ROUND several times and was excited to see essentially the same crew tackle the world's most notorious endurance race. I was not let down.

If you saw LWR, the formula is similar, starting with planning, prep, bike prep and all the joys that go along with it. My heart goes out to Charley with the weight issue. I suffer from the same thing: spend all day working out and still carry a gut. Anyways, without giving away all the fun parts, it's exciting with some humor.

Race footage is good, not great. I feel some great items are only glanced at, while some not so exciting bits are extended too much.

The real issue is the language. The "f-bomb" is dropped so much it becomes a bit uncomfortable (and I routinely ride with ex-1%ers). I can only imagine the broadcast version of this was edited to death in areas.

In all, I do recommend RACE to DAKAR, but not for anyone under 18 years of age.

Still a good series none the less. This time the series features only Charlie Boorman, although Ewan McGregor does make a couple of cameo appearances.

The Pairs to Dakar is one of the toughest if not the toughest race in the world. What the competitors go through is just incredible and it is no wonder the race has had quite a few fatalities over the years, including one during the filming of this series.

As with the Long Way Round the first couple of episodes are concerned with race prep and trying to get Charlie race fit. Enter Australian Simon Pavy (sp?), race competitor extraordinaire. He takes Charlie under his wing and gives him some gruelling workouts trying to get him ready. Unfortunately both desire and luck are not on Charlie's side with him pulling out of some three hour enduro races (that weren't a patch on ONE day of the Paris to Dakar) or being injured on the second day of dune training. Not only that but the support vehicle is having it's own share of problems and with 24 hours before leaving it's still not finished!

Still Charlie amazes us all when he gets to the real thing and puts in some monumental gruelling efforts. The same can't be said for the support vehicle which is plagued by electrical and mechanical problems. At least Russ Malkin didn't roll it this time... Injuries abound and the bikes are put down countless times. That's of course when they're not buried to their axels in the soft sand of the dunes being threatened with getting run over by the car/truck competitors that seem to have little regard for the motorcyclists.

All and all a very enjoyable series and while it didn't seem to have the depth that the Long Way Round did, I still enjoyed it immensely and would recommend it to anyone who got a kick out of Long Way Round.

After having seen both Long Way Round and Long Way Down, I was a little concerned that this would be another rushed trip that could have been a little better. It is not. Dakar is a great film about the race. It's not just poorly planned travel, but an exciting look at a big race the US doesn't see much of.

Another motorcycle adventure classic from the guys who took us on a ride from London to NYC - the long way... This time they leave Ewan McGregor at home and Charlie, Russ and Claudio and some new characters get to taste the dirt, sand and trepidations of the legendary (Paris) Dakar race. Even though Charley never gets to ride around the Pink Lake (he still whines like a baby), his teamate/buddy and trainer Simon Pavey does. It is a great story of perseverance, adventure, dedication, luck, failure, ignorance and final triumph.

Okay I first heard of the Dakar rally long ago, but didn't really get into it until the last two years. Now I am a huge fan of this race, great winter viewing. I am also a huge fan of "Long Way Round", with Charly Boorman, and Ewan McGregor. When I first heard that this DVD was available I couldn't believe it. It is a great DVD and movie. Charly is a little whiny, but he is not a racer and did one of the hardest races in the world. Kudos to Charley.

The only problem that I have with the whole deal is that the DVD that I got was PAL, not NTSC. WHen I bought my copy in Dec 2006, it still listed the region code as unknown, now it says NTSC. I have my doubts about that. It is just now being played on TV here, and has been out for awhile in Europe, so be careful with what you are getting, or you may be watching it on the computer as I did. When I contacted [...] about it they sent some weird reply that did not even address the issue that I had written about. I would buy from them again, but I would make sure about what I was buying before I got it.

Enjoy the movie it is well worth the money. Especially if you are a LWR fan.

I really enjoyed this video, yes, Charley may come off as a bit whiny at times but who wouldn't if they were about to enter the most grueling rally race in the world? I'd be crying like a baby. Besides Charley shows just how tough he is when the rubber hits the sand. Although this isn't LWR(but what is, right?) it is a great video and a heck of a lot of fun to watch, everyone is like-able and the filming is top notch. My only complaint is the theme music, my god is it awful. Overall, I say buy this, you will not be disappointed.

If you saw Long Way Around (LWA), you could consider Race to Dakar (RTD) to simply be Part II. (Long Way Down being Part III). If you didn't see LWA, you should read those reviews to familiarize yourself, since RTD constantly references it.

The mostly-same crew is back, with some differences. Ewan is not riding this time, but he shows up anyway about a hundred times. Russ is the coolly efficient manager and producer, and still a bit of a wanker. He doesn't like people disagreeing with him. Claudio is the cameraman again, though he's totally backgrounded this time. Other people fade in an out, including other riders and the support team.

RTD follows a three-man team of motorcycle riders on the Dakar Rally (better known as the Paris-Dakar Rally, though it doesn't start in Paris anymore). While it's another motorcycle trip like LRW, the two are not so easily compared. The big difference is that on LWR, you knew they were going to make it, even if they had to cheat a bit by riding trains or getting carried on trucks. But RTD has rules. You can't break down and spend a few days fixing your bike, or take a rest day. One good breakdown or spill, and you're out. More than half the riders who start the race don't complete it, and so the question in RTD becomes whether our heroes can make it or not. The drama level is much higher, because we know the odds are against them.

I had the series a bit spoiled for me by knowing in advance whether Charlie would make it, but it didn't ruin things; the series is still well worth watching even if you know the ending.

Charlie is not only the star of the series, but one of the surprising bright spots. In LRW, he was a bit hard to watch, and didn't benefit from the comparison of being paired with Ewan McGregor. Alone, he shines much more. He seems to have gained some maturity along with his new haircut. As for the other two riders, Simon is a bit of an enigma and not a terribly interesting person, seemingly having only one emotion, and Matt is all but invisible much of the time, only becoming poignant while having quite the adventure after getting stuck in the sand.

RTD is much grittier than LWA, as befits such a rally. You get a sense of the dangers and the vulnerability that change or a small lack of logistics can bring. One well-known rider died after a crash, as did two children, spectators who just happened to be too close to the road. Four-letter word echo constantly. As with LRA, Charlie is fairly naive about what he's gotten himself into, but when he and the other riders complain about the horrid conditions of the race, you believe them. One rider looks right at the camera and says "I'll tell you what--I won't be doing this again." For our sake, I'm glad they did it once.

In which Charley decides to ride the Dakar, enlists 2 experienced team mates, receives BMW bikes prepped by Touratech, a staff SUV from BMW (then modified by a leading off road builder) and a 40 ton support truck loaded with spares. He also gets 2 mechanics and a team manger plus a couple of camera folks. Back in London he has an office with full support staff. He then proceeds to whine throughout most of the documentary.

If you're expecting much racing footage in a documentary about a 9,000 KM off-road rally you'll be disappointed. Some oft-repeated wide shots and brief helmet cams from Charlie's team bikes is about it. As for other competitors, unless they're talking to one of our team they may as well not exist.

It's worth watching but probably not worth buying if you get my drift.

i enjoyed the movie on the whole...i feel the need to add that Charlie Boorman can be a bit of a whiney little girl pretty much through out the series...tons of bitching and i don't think anybody in the film can get through a sentence without the use of profanity..not one for the under 13 crowd. it is an excellent docu of the actual race itself though!

This is a very good DVD set that I really enjoyed! It is at least as good as the Long Way Round or Long Way Down series. Charley give the Dakar Rally his best shot...you'll have to watch it to see how he does. This is worth every penny...pure enjoyment!