Race to Dakar (2006– ) User Reviews

This is the sort of reality show i WANT to see more of

[stuart-bannerman · 8/10 · 8 January 2007]

I loved Long Way Round and wasn't even aware of Race to Dakar until i saw it on the shelves of my local supermarket. I bought it and after a slightly 'hmm will this be as good' first episode i decided that it was. Charlie Boorman was great as were the other members of the crew. Great to see him with Ewan again. There was a fair bit of swearing in it but that didn't bother me. As for their being no mention of it on the package. Thats more to do with the silly Excempt from Classification certificate that the BBFC have. They should have given it a 15 just for the language alone.

Highly recommended series, i want more!!

Another great adventure

[trevor-226 · 8/10 · 15 November 2006]

If you loved Long Way Round you will enjoy this nearly as much. It is educational, funny, interesting and tense. Charley shares the screen with two interesting teammates, two tired mechanics, two excellent cameramen and too much Russ. Ewan makes a few appearances but Charley really pulls it off alone. He is funny, engaging and still a puddle of stress and doubt. Great stuff!

The series wraps up in 7 episodes. Like LWR, the preparation is nearly as interesting as the race. Though they cover the ins and outs of the race well, there could be a bit more explanation of the trucks and cars, which are merely mentioned and rarely even seen racing. It is a motorcycle movie though and anyone on two wheels will love this.

The series features stunning photography as well as a few interviews of peoples mouths. Yikes. There is another extremely catchy theme song like LWR but this one is not nearly as good as the Stereophonics.

If you live in the US god knows when it will be released so buy it on Amazon.uk and watch it on your computer as I did. Oh, and be prepared to buy another motorbike.

I loved Race to Dakar

[la_la_lis · 8/10 · 19 October 2006]

Having seen Charley Boorman in Long Way Round with Ewan McGregor, I was very interested to see how Charley would be in his own show. I thought Charley came across as a lovely guy who is very grounded and down to earth. Its nice to see that celebrities struggle with their weight and fitness, it just show's their human too! I don't know a lot about bikes, but this show gripped me right from the start. The preparation and organising for this event seems immense. The event itself seems very dangerous and I'm fascinated to see why Charley and everyone else is doing it and how far he gets. I love the pace of the show and the fast upbeat music. I can't believe he broke his collar bone, I really hope its not the end, I cant wait to see the next episode...

A highly entertaining sequel to Long Way Round

[pannpost · 10/10 · 24 February 2007]

I always follow the Dakar, so when my husband bought Charlie's 'Race to Dakar' DVD home I couldn't wait to watch it! Of course we'd seen the broadcast of the race when the actual race was on, but that never gives the background and specific teams.

If you watched Long Way Round then you won't be surprised by the language which frankly I find more amusing than offensive.

I think the only thing that annoyed me about the DVD was Charlie's hair, but he had it styled before Dakar so my feminine need for neatness was assuaged; tho' I could have lived without the 'flame' undies lol As with LWR, the preparation was every bit as interesting as the race itself. I nearly cried when Charlie broke his hand, and winced at every bruise he sustained while training....and of course the death of Andy Caldicott...that was an appalling tragedy, but then every year there's something.

Russ drives me nuts, although his attitude has improved a thousand times from the argumentative cynic he was in LWR. It's great to see him get along so well now with Charlie.

What I learned from this odyssey was - 1. never let Scorpion prepare your vehicle for ANYTHING! - they had months to prepare the X5, and still the day before the team left for Lisbon, Scorpion had only done half of things that needed to be done, and the vehicle was a pain throughout the whole race; 2. the Dakar organizers need to put a lot more work into their rider/driver retrieval plan - leaving Matt (and presumably a large number of other riders/drivers out to dry the way they did was nothing short of culpable negligence; 3. Charlie has an endearing enthusiasm for 'rough and tough' adventure but needs to toughen up a lot to really perform as he'd like; and finally, 4. Charlie and Ewan are planning another of these epos called the Long Way Down in 2007, and I can't wait to get my hands on it! :D If you love bikes and/or genuinely nice blokes 'having a go', you have to watch this, I guarantee you love it. It's very entertaining.

In conclusion, to Simon Pavey - you sir are a hero, I was so impressed by the your 'quiet achiever' manner and the fact that you actually finished.....just incredible considering what an monumentally difficult race it is. And to Charlie, Matt and the rest of the team - full marks for pulling it off. To think that a relatively green team could have achieved so much is truly admirable. You're all wonderful.

I Love Charley! Great Adventure Series!

[tomgpohl · 8/10 · 6 January 2021]

I wish 4K technology was available when this series was produced, because the footage is rough and irritating to watch at times. The sound levels are terrible, but I understand it was entirely "Run and Gun" shooting. The editing was awful at times, but seemed to improve once Charley broke his hand.

Overall, I enjoyed it, but Claudio could of used a 3CCD-era video camera.

The Most Realistic Reality show

[vonniedp · 10/10 · 17 January 2007]

The planning episodes were a bit dull, but when they reached the desert it was quite fun to watch. The reason why I call it the most realistic reality show is because, much to my surprise,Charley fell out of the race relatively early. When his hands were sore, I expected the usual stress and then a miracle fix, but instead he actually quit the race. The most anxious moment of the show must've been when Max was stuck out in the desert with almost no water or food! The ending was great and I was very happy to see at least one of the team make it. Overall, not as great as the Long Way Round, but definitely an interesting watch, as one gets a peek into the most challenging race in the world.

Amazing TV show

[jasonrobinson-08032 · 10/10 · 21 February 2024]

Ignore all the negative reviews this is one of the best TV shows involving Charley I have seen all his travel documentaries and this and long way round down and up are all my favourites definitely 10 out of 10 and if you cant handle someone who swears then don't watch it.its such a shame he couldn't finish it but at least his team mate Simon finished it for him it's a very tuff situation he was in on the Dakar rally and it was good to see ewan McGregor supporting him thro his whole adventure hopefully he does more of these.im watching his by any means the now so I will write a review on them once I'm finished.

Interesting watch but not on my Christmas list.

[NewForestWalker · 6/10 · 20 November 2006]

Following on from the success of the Long Way Round our likable hero puts together another sponsorship deal with BMW which sees him entering the Dakar after more or less stating that was to be his next move in the book of the series! Oops!!

The team consisted of Simon Pavey (Ausi bike champ, multiple Dakar entrant and more importantly finisher.. and all round good egg going by the film), the personable Brit. rider/cameraman Matt Hall, a couple of gifted mechanics and Producer/team Captain Russ Malkin..

A typical slow start to the series and then the fun begins (which is just as well as Charley incessant whinging and swearing almost had me reaching for the OFF button). You get a real sense of how tough the race is both mentally and physically not to mention how fallible the X-5 is in anything other than the urban jungle. Some true grit moments along with heaps of admiration and bafflement for the people riding, driving or supporting this event. This really is one of the worlds hardest races and Charley and 'his' crew give you an insight into how quote "insane this all is" That being said how many of us would go for it If we had a year to prepare, £200K+ budget, co-riders,backup trucks, mechanics, ofice crew etc... oh and a lucrative DVD, book and Sky contract. Sorry Charley, the formula is getting a bit tired.. oh and ease up on the whinging and swearing will ya!

Great if you like motorbike. Otherwise, it's boring

[droopyn · 4/10 · 16 January 2022]

Kind of very boring if you are not into motorbikes.

If you ask me: why did you watch then?

Well, I'm not into farming, and yet Clarkson's farm (on Amazon) was very good.

It could have been the same here, except is dull.

My grade: 3 points for the 35 seconds of punch line with Ewan Mc Gregor (first 2 minutes of Ep 1).

1 point for the Dakar people.

Shame about the F-Bombs

[pwatm · 5/10 · 24 October 2020]

Great show but I wish Charley would clean up his potty mouth. It's not big. It's not clever. Just shows his insecurities by trying to be tough cause he swears.