Race to Dakar

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...

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!

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.

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.

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.