It’s called Dakar: Race Against the Desert, but this is a film about a motorsport event more than a race. For over four decades, the Dakar has not only been acknowledged as the toughest off-road competition on earth, but an endurance classic that has come to symbolise a true sense of pioneering sprit and the ultimate test of driver, navigator and machine against the elements.

Of course even that definition doesn’t really do justice to an event that is held in some of the harshest terrain on the planet over a two week period, with competitors on two and four wheels battling not only one another for the coveted win, but also the terrain and the ever-changing conditions.

It is a test not only of speed and prowess behind the wheel, but of the highest navigational skills, team work, endurance and reliability. Being the fastest through a stage is just a part of the equation. Indeed simply finishing each stage and the rally itself is an achievement, while to actually win this inspiring event is amongst the highest achievements in world motorsport.

The film looks at the year 2023, which for the Audi Sport campaign was a challenging year to say the least. But such is the way with The Dakar.

The film follows the fortunes of several key competitors, from young up and comer Cristinia Gutierez and young gun Seth Quintero in the T3 category, to nine-time world rally ace Sebastien Loeb chasing his first Dakar win against seasoned campaigners Nasser Al-Attiya and Audi’s own Carlos Sainz Sr. – both veterans of the event and multiple winners. On two wheels, the focus is on Australian Toby Price with two victories to his name already and relative newcomer Mason Klein, who obviously idolises the Australian and hopes to one day emulate his success.

For the Audi Sport team – Sainz and navigator Lucas Cruz, Stephan Peterhansel and co-driver Edouard Boulanger, and Mattias Ekström with his co-driver Emil Bergkvist, 2023 represented the halfway point in a campaign to become the first team to claim top honours in the Dakar driving a vehicle with electric drive. 

The Audi RS Q e-tron was developed especially by Audi Sport for the event and was the first car designed specifically for the T1U class, showcasing a low-emission concept with an electric drivetrain and energy converter.

Over the course of the three years Audi Sport campaigned in the Dakar rally, the vehicle continually refined and went through two generations before ultimately winning the coveted title in 2024, but there was no such happy ending the year before as featured in Dakar: Battle Against the Desert.

Indeed the film shows the extreme hardship that is part and parcel of the event, with each of the featured racers having to confront and overcome their own challenges and hardships through the course of the two week race.

For Audi, 2023 ended with Peterhansel and Edouard Boulanger retiring after a serious accident in the sixth stage, while Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz escaped serious injury three days later after launching off a large sand dune and rolling the RS Q e-tron. That left Mattias Ekström and Emil Bergkvist  battling to the end of the rally after numerous tyre and suspension issues to finish in 14th.

The others featured had mixed success which the film brings into sharp focus in what is a captivating insight into perhaps the last great motorsport event of its type in the world.

But this is not just a film for diehard motorsports enthusiasts, but for anyone intrigued by a spirit of adventure that is sadly lacking from so many aspects of life today. This is an event that although featuring some of the most advanced automotive technology in the case of the Audi RS Q e-tron, also relies on talent, determination and teamwork, in an environment most of us will never encounter, never mind battle against. Spectacular cinematography brings the Saudi Arabian desert to life on the screen, while the behind the scenes access, interviews with drivers, riders and team members sheds new light on the epic motorsport event. Dakar: Race Against the Desert is definitely not to be missed.

Dakar: Battle Against the Desert is screening at selected cinemas and is also available on Amazon Prime.