The Road to Dakar is a new five-part documentary following a team of disabled British and American serviceman as they attempt to enter the most gruelling motorsport event in the world – The Dakar Rally. Directed by award winning documentary maker Tim Pritchard (Ross Kemp on Gangs) and produced by Gaucho Productions, the series will debut on Eurosport this Christmas and detail how a madcap idea gave birth to an extraordinary rally team – Race2Recovery.
Charting their journey from the battlefield to the Dakar, the series is narrated by Captain Tony Harris, who lost his left leg in Afghanistan but is about to become the first amputee driver to compete in the Dakar. Tony and his teammates have an amazing story to tell. Co-driver Tom Neathway, for example, is a triple amputee, while Mark Zambon is a US Marine who lost both his legs while serving as a bomb disposal expert. He too will co-drive in one of their specialist Wildcat rally raid cars, based on the Land Rover Defender.
Race2Recovery will be the first predominantly disabled team ever to enter the Dakar. Their aims are two-fold: to inspire other injured service personnel and the wider disabled community, and to raise money for the Personal Recovery Centre at Tedworth House. This Help for Heroes project supports injured service personnel, veterans and their families.
Across the series, we’ll see them learn to navigate through the Moroccan desert, do battle with sand dunes on the North African coast and combat the Dorset mud. We’ll feel their emotion as a financial crisis almost kills the dream, and we’ll share the tears, tantrums and triumphs as the rally gets ever closer. This is a truly extraordinary human story of courage and fast cars, set against the epic backdrop of the Dakar Rally.
Alistair Weaver, Executive Producer, Gaucho Productions says: “It’s been a real privilege to follow the Race2Recovery team on their journey to the Dakar. This is a story that works on so many levels: it’s an incredible tale of human will in the face of adversity with some awesome machines and a beautiful backdrop. It’s a story that needed telling and we’re proud to have played our part in bringing it to life.”
Tim Ufton, Senior Producer, British Eurosport says: “We’ve been thrilled to work with Gaucho Productions on the Race2Recovery project. From the first meeting it was clear that this was an exciting, emotional story that would be perfect for our audience. There’s lots of competition for a primetime slot on Christmas week, but Race2Recovery was an obvious choice.”
The five-part series will debut on British Eurosport on Christmas Eve at 8pm and run every night at the same time. It will also be broadcast on Eurosport in the Asia-Pacific region, reaching over 6M homes in 17 countries.
For further information and to make a donation visit www.race2recovery.com.
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