The Last Road Trip: Paris to Dakar (NR)

synopsis

Set in the world's most spectacular off-road race. The film captures the spirit of the Lone Rider against the desert, as epitomized by deceased race founder Thierry Sabine and his racing compatriot Hubert Auriol. The movie tells the story of several of these teams as they attempt to complete the Dakar rally. Each year 300 riders set out from Paris to travel 5000 miles of breathtaking African sands in a race followed by several hundred million passionate fans in 156 different countries. This eighteen-day motorized marathon is the ultimate test of man and machine's attempt to cover nature. Traditionally beginning the first week of January, the race continues over three weeks and 6,000 miles as the entire convoy idles through France and Spain before letting it rip across the desert sands of Morocco, Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal. The exact route is constantly subject to change, due to the intense volatility of the region, but somehow the violent threat of local mercenaries only adds to the rally's lore. Faced with such overwhelming obstacles as sandstorms, searing heat, deadly land mines, and desert mercenaries, the competitors have one goal: Arrive alive.