0:00:04 > 0:00:07In 1977, during a motorcycle endurance race,
0:00:07 > 0:00:10French racer Thierry Sabine got lost
0:00:10 > 0:00:12for several days in the Libyan desert,
0:00:12 > 0:00:14almost dying from exposure.
0:00:14 > 0:00:18Remarkably, he was seduced by the experience.
0:00:18 > 0:00:22Determined to return,
0:00:22 > 0:00:24he came up with the idea of a rally from Paris across the entire
0:00:24 > 0:00:27Sahara, to Dakar in Senegal.
0:00:31 > 0:00:33He could not have imagined that ten years later,
0:00:33 > 0:00:36his mad idea would become the biggest,
0:00:36 > 0:00:39most lethal motor sport event in the world...
0:00:39 > 0:00:42..with crazy drivers and crazy vehicles
0:00:42 > 0:00:45taking huge risks...
0:00:45 > 0:00:48..and that he and many more would be dead.
0:00:48 > 0:00:50Anybody with any sense probably wouldn't have started it,
0:00:50 > 0:00:53because it's obvious that that'll be a problem.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55It could have been the last days of my life.
0:00:55 > 0:01:00The epic Paris to Dakar effortlessly captured humanity's need
0:01:00 > 0:01:01for endeavour and freedom,
0:01:01 > 0:01:05becoming a beacon for eccentric adventurers.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08Battling huge dunes across the Sahara's
0:01:08 > 0:01:109,000 kilometres of shifting sands,
0:01:10 > 0:01:13like its founder, Sabine, the entrants came to love the desert
0:01:13 > 0:01:15and its extreme challenge.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20That's been the best part of my life.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24My first contact with the desert
0:01:24 > 0:01:27was a love contact.
0:01:27 > 0:01:28Was a love contact.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31If you get the opportunity to drive across the Sahara desert,
0:01:31 > 0:01:32you've got to take it.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35But when international exposure
0:01:35 > 0:01:38catapulted the rally into the biggest motor race
0:01:38 > 0:01:40in the world,
0:01:40 > 0:01:44it became a victim of its own rapid success.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47Shrouded by controversy, overwhelmed by corporate interests,
0:01:47 > 0:01:50it claimed over 60 deaths,
0:01:50 > 0:01:52including innocent bystanders.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05It's a crazy race. I want to stop.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07It's finished for me.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10As the organisers battled to keep the adventure alive,
0:02:10 > 0:02:13the rally would finally come up
0:02:13 > 0:02:16against the harsh reality of African politics.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19This is the story of how one man's dream
0:02:19 > 0:02:24became the biggest motor sport event in the world...
0:02:24 > 0:02:26..and how the West took on the continent of Africa...
0:02:26 > 0:02:28..and lost.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42'On etait la dernierement dans la Grece pour les derniers preparatifs.'
0:02:42 > 0:02:44At 9,000 kilometres,
0:02:44 > 0:02:47the Paris-Dakar was the biggest rally ever conceived,
0:02:47 > 0:02:50starting on the streets of Paris
0:02:50 > 0:02:52and skirting, in stages,
0:02:52 > 0:02:54the entire Sahara in three weeks.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56It would be the harshest event
0:02:56 > 0:02:59its competitors had ever undertaken.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01In the beginning, it was a big adventure,
0:03:01 > 0:03:03an adventure between friends.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06We did not know where we were going.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19Gathered at the Trocadero on Boxing Day, 1978,
0:03:19 > 0:03:21was a ramshackle group
0:03:21 > 0:03:24of enthusiasts and adventurers alike.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27None of them had any idea what they were about to experience.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32None of them were aware that the founder only expected one of them
0:03:32 > 0:03:35to finish his event.
0:03:42 > 0:03:44As the competitors rolled out of Paris
0:03:44 > 0:03:45towards the port of Marseille,
0:03:45 > 0:03:47everyone of them was using a normal
0:03:47 > 0:03:50production bike, car or truck,
0:03:50 > 0:03:51some slightly modified.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55None of them were specially prepared for what lay ahead.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58Would they be able to handle such an extreme challenge?
0:04:23 > 0:04:27As the competitors disembarked the ferry in Algiers, Thierry Sabine
0:04:27 > 0:04:29handed them a road book of his research
0:04:29 > 0:04:31of the course.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34The real adventure had begun.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37The road books say, "Straight on, on the main road.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40Then they say, "Some holes,"
0:04:40 > 0:04:41they say, "Jump,"
0:04:41 > 0:04:43they say nothing!
0:04:44 > 0:04:47And so the leaders say, "At this village,
0:04:47 > 0:04:50"take the direction to..." another village.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53But if you go there, there is no road signs.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59The course was broken into long stages,
0:04:59 > 0:05:03some over 600 kilometres, against the clock...
0:05:03 > 0:05:07..camping each night as a group in what were known as bivouacs.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11The organisers did not provide food or fuel,
0:05:11 > 0:05:13which had to be bought locally.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16MUSIC: "Comment Te Dire Adieu" by Francoise Hardy
0:06:06 > 0:06:08Every day we'd discover something,
0:06:08 > 0:06:10including discover the food,
0:06:10 > 0:06:12discover the hotels,
0:06:12 > 0:06:13discover everything.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15We discovered Africa.
0:06:17 > 0:06:22This is a time you had the first Indiana Jones movie coming out.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24Nobody talked about adventure.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26You didn't have exciting things to do.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29I think Thierry invented this rally
0:06:29 > 0:06:31for many reasons, but the essential point
0:06:31 > 0:06:33was to be able to bring a whole bunch of people
0:06:33 > 0:06:35out somewhere they did not know,
0:06:35 > 0:06:37where they had never been,
0:06:37 > 0:06:39and in a rather hostile environment.
0:06:39 > 0:06:44He did that in order for people to discover themselves,
0:06:44 > 0:06:47to make people realise, "How far can I go?
0:06:47 > 0:06:50"Can I go beyond that limit?
0:06:50 > 0:06:52"When will I break down?"
0:06:52 > 0:06:55I'm not talking about just mechanically,
0:06:55 > 0:06:58but psychologically.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01One of the first competitors to sign up for the rally
0:07:01 > 0:07:04was endurance motorcycle racer and part-time air hostess,
0:07:04 > 0:07:07Martine De Cortanze.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11On her regular flights to Southern Africa
0:07:11 > 0:07:12she could see clearly
0:07:12 > 0:07:15the massive scale of the desert she was to cross.
0:07:15 > 0:07:20When I flew over the Sahara,
0:07:20 > 0:07:25I just looked down and said, "Wow!
0:07:25 > 0:07:27"This is big."
0:07:27 > 0:07:29The Sahara is 9 million square kilometres,
0:07:29 > 0:07:33straddling 12 countries.
0:07:33 > 0:07:34An explorer once walked across it
0:07:34 > 0:07:36and took nine months.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39It is one of the world's most hostile places.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41There are few, if any, roads.
0:07:41 > 0:07:45Amongst dunes that can rise to 185 metres,
0:07:45 > 0:07:48there are sand holes that can swallow cars whole.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51Away from these, the surface is often so rough,
0:07:51 > 0:07:53it rips your tyres apart.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56There was no rescue service in the desert.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00If you got stuck, you were on your own.
0:08:00 > 0:08:04We had probably 400 kilometres or so
0:08:04 > 0:08:07to start really being in the desert,
0:08:07 > 0:08:09then it happens.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13Control started it - "Five, four, three, two, one, go!"
0:08:13 > 0:08:16And then...desert.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18Wow!
0:08:20 > 0:08:22And suddenly, I felt
0:08:22 > 0:08:25like in my garden.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29My first contact down on the ground
0:08:29 > 0:08:32with the desert
0:08:32 > 0:08:36was a love contact.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40Was a love contact.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43# When the sun
0:08:44 > 0:08:47# Comes out... #
0:08:49 > 0:08:51I wasn't scared.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53I wasn't frightened.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56I had nothing negative.
0:08:56 > 0:09:01I was happy, happy, happy
0:09:01 > 0:09:02to be there.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04Really happy.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06And I went, "Vroom!"
0:09:10 > 0:09:15It was an entranced love of one life for Africa.
0:09:15 > 0:09:20And I thank Thierry for that.
0:09:23 > 0:09:25# And my man has gone and left me
0:09:27 > 0:09:30# In the rain... #
0:09:30 > 0:09:32Navigating in the desert is almost impossible
0:09:32 > 0:09:35because the sun is the only reference point,
0:09:35 > 0:09:37often obscured by vicious sandstorms,
0:09:37 > 0:09:41where you struggle even to see your own hands.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44Nobody had ever attempted a race on this scale before.
0:09:44 > 0:09:49As the dwindling competitors crossed the Tropic of Cancer towards Mali,
0:09:49 > 0:09:52some had already gone beyond their limits.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56Most had already forgotten about racing against the clock
0:09:56 > 0:09:59and were trying to survive.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18Out of the 181 starters,
0:10:18 > 0:10:23only 74 experienced the thrill of racing along the beach
0:10:23 > 0:10:25into a tropically flooded Dakar.
0:10:25 > 0:10:26The winner was Cyril Neveu...
0:10:26 > 0:10:28..on his motorbike.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33The rally was deemed an unqualified success,
0:10:33 > 0:10:36despite one motorcyclist dying when he fell off
0:10:36 > 0:10:38whilst not wearing a helmet.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18The pioneering attitude of the first ParisDakar continued.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21Anyone could enter.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24In 1981, a Rolls-Royce was entered.
0:11:26 > 0:11:30Women, including the famous actress Iris Berben,
0:11:30 > 0:11:32competed alongside the men.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34And slowly the event began
0:11:34 > 0:11:36to gain cachet,
0:11:36 > 0:11:38even glamour.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41Some competitors even fantasised about winning.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44Still, Sabine was more circumspect.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47When asked in a press conference who he thought would win,
0:11:47 > 0:11:49he replied, "the desert."
0:11:53 > 0:11:56There are no signposts in the Sahara.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59Your life depends on your ability to navigate.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02People that can drive racing cars cannot necessarily find their way
0:12:02 > 0:12:06through 1,000 kilometres of uninterrupted sand.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13In 1982, the race was still little known outside France.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17But it was about to be propelled into the international limelight,
0:12:17 > 0:12:20gaining instant front-page exposure.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28Anne-Charlotte Verney was a celebrated track racer.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30When she proposed entering the Paris-Dakar,
0:12:30 > 0:12:34her manager teamed her up with an up-and-coming racing driver
0:12:34 > 0:12:39who already had some success at the Le Mans 24 Hour track race.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42His name was Mark Thatcher.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44Charlotte came up to me and said,
0:12:44 > 0:12:47"Mark, do you want to do the Dakar?" I sort of said, "Yeah, OK,"
0:12:47 > 0:12:49and forgot about it for four months.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51Then she rang up one day and said,
0:12:51 > 0:12:53"Can you come over for the press conference?"
0:12:53 > 0:12:55So I arrived over there and signed the contract
0:12:55 > 0:12:58and went straight to the press conference. That was pretty much the preparation.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00Got a bit more serious after that,
0:13:00 > 0:13:02but that was in November
0:13:02 > 0:13:05and I arrived in Paris two days before New Year's Eve.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08Verney was an established professional driver,
0:13:08 > 0:13:11so Thatcher was chosen to be her navigator.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13Having flown light aircraft,
0:13:13 > 0:13:16he did bring some experience to the team.
0:13:18 > 0:13:22For him, a crack at the Paris-Dakar was an opportunity not to be missed.
0:13:22 > 0:13:27For his team, getting the son of a prime minister was a PR coup.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30Obviously, she'd be a lot happier if I took up chess,
0:13:30 > 0:13:34but naturally it's every mother's prerogative
0:13:34 > 0:13:35to worry about their sons,
0:13:35 > 0:13:37but she trusts my ability
0:13:37 > 0:13:39and I don't want to hurt myself any more than she does.
0:13:39 > 0:13:40The sponsor said,
0:13:40 > 0:13:44"It will be good if you want to make an operation together.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46In winter, I don't have any race,
0:13:46 > 0:13:50So I say, "We can do the Paris-Dakar."
0:13:50 > 0:13:52Mark said, "That's perfect,"
0:13:52 > 0:13:54so we do it. I was driving
0:13:54 > 0:13:56and he was my co-driver.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14Unfortunately, three days into the desert,
0:14:14 > 0:14:17the back axle broke.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20They could not establish exactly where in south Algeria they were.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22If they weren't on the right route,
0:14:22 > 0:14:25any search would most likely fail.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30# Finding a good man, girls, is like finding a...
0:14:30 > 0:14:32# Needle in a haystack
0:14:32 > 0:14:35- # What I say, girl? - Needle in a haystack... #
0:14:38 > 0:14:41There's no news tonight of the whereabouts of Mark Thatcher,
0:14:41 > 0:14:43his fellow driver, Anny-Charlotte Venney,
0:14:43 > 0:14:45and their mechanic.
0:14:45 > 0:14:47Reports of sightings today are now being discounted.
0:14:47 > 0:14:49REPORTER: Any news you've had of your son?
0:14:49 > 0:14:51I'm afraid there is no news.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07We weren't lost per se, it's just that the car
0:15:07 > 0:15:10became completely immovable.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13We had been travelling in convoy
0:15:13 > 0:15:15with two other of the team cars as well.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18When we stopped,
0:15:18 > 0:15:21we worked out where we were,
0:15:21 > 0:15:23all six of us worked out where we were.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26It's a thing I could not understand - he could not find where we were.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29With all the machine he had,
0:15:29 > 0:15:31he said, "I can't find it."
0:15:31 > 0:15:35That's the only thing that made me angry.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38All of us were in the car.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40There were three sets of road books
0:15:40 > 0:15:44and a lot about how we would get round dunes
0:15:44 > 0:15:45and all this sort of thing,
0:15:45 > 0:15:48so I think pretty much it was a collective view.
0:15:59 > 0:16:01Bearing in mind,
0:16:01 > 0:16:04when we stopped, the two other team cars were there.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07I don't see how that really bears up.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13The eyes of the world were now focused on the Paris-Dakar.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17Verney, Thatcher and Garnier had been lost for five days.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20It had become a major international incident.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23If the son of the British prime minister was to die,
0:16:23 > 0:16:26the outcry could affect the rally's reputation.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30'Denis Thatcher has flown out to Algeria'
0:16:30 > 0:16:32to help in the search for his son Mark,
0:16:32 > 0:16:35missing on a car rally in the Sahara desert.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39The prime minister and her husband are said to be very concerned.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41My father decided he was going to go
0:16:41 > 0:16:45and take more of a hands-on attitude to this,
0:16:45 > 0:16:47and actually flew down to Algeria.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50When it's 40 degrees outside, it's very difficult.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54At the end, we drink the water of the radiator.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05I was really going to limit water consumption
0:17:05 > 0:17:09to almost emergency ration level.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13When you have nothing to eat, it's not so important.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16I think, two days more, we will be dead.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19Thatcher and his team-mates were lucky to be
0:17:19 > 0:17:21rescued by the Algerian military.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24But the year after, Sabine would change the course,
0:17:24 > 0:17:27taking the rally into even more inhospitable terrain,
0:17:27 > 0:17:31demanding more from the competitors and their machines.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34The Tenere is in the heart of the Sahara.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38A huge 4,000-square kilometre region of endless sand,
0:17:38 > 0:17:42stretching from Chad in the east to Niger in the west.
0:17:42 > 0:17:46In this featureless landscape, there is nothing
0:17:46 > 0:17:47to stop the winds whipping up sand
0:17:47 > 0:17:50at speeds of up to 100 kilometres per hour.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54These 6,000 metre-high freaks of nature
0:17:54 > 0:17:56can be terrifying,
0:17:56 > 0:18:01engulfing entire cities and stripping paint from cars.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04In 1983 in the Tenere,
0:18:04 > 0:18:07the rally would be overwhelmed by a huge sandstorm.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10It would be a reminder of why the Paris-Dakar could become
0:18:10 > 0:18:13a frightening undertaking
0:18:13 > 0:18:16and why the competitors were always at risk of getting lost
0:18:16 > 0:18:18in such a vast, remote wilderness.
0:18:20 > 0:18:25And in the middle of this, we had a sandstorm.
0:18:25 > 0:18:30And you can't see more than the end of the room.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33So you have to slow down.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35And, once again, pray.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51It's scary because you see nothing
0:18:51 > 0:18:54and you know in the desert
0:18:54 > 0:18:57you can't fix your eyes on something
0:18:57 > 0:18:59because you have no trees, nothing.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02Suddenly all the tracks get off.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05And you lose your way.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08The navigation at that time was very difficult.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11Over the length of the 200 kilometre stage,
0:19:11 > 0:19:13a small nine-degree error in your compass reading
0:19:13 > 0:19:16could take you 30 kilometres off course.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33When I arrived,
0:19:33 > 0:19:36I nearly prayed,
0:19:36 > 0:19:38because I thought I would never get out of this storm,
0:19:38 > 0:19:39of this track,
0:19:39 > 0:19:42and the organisation had a big problem.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47Sabine had a potential catastrophe on his hands -
0:19:47 > 0:19:5140 competitors spread over the most inhospitable desert in Africa.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55When the wind lightened
0:19:55 > 0:19:57and he could finally get his helicopter in the air,
0:19:57 > 0:20:00he was left chasing shadows.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06For those lost, it was potentially fatal.
0:21:30 > 0:21:35It took four days for all the 40 competitors to be saved.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37Most carried on towards Dakar.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40And the sandstorm in the Tenere became an adventure
0:21:40 > 0:21:44against which all others would be measured.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46Its increased notoriety and exposure
0:21:46 > 0:21:49meant sponsorship and its associated money
0:21:49 > 0:21:53was now pouring into the rally.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55Entries were two and a half times of the first event,
0:21:55 > 0:21:59testimony to the beauty of Thierry Sabine's vision
0:21:59 > 0:22:00and the discovery
0:22:00 > 0:22:03of what was effectively an unregulated playground.
0:22:05 > 0:22:06In 1986, Sabine announced
0:22:06 > 0:22:09he would be providing water pumps
0:22:09 > 0:22:12to some of the poorest villages along the route.
0:22:12 > 0:22:14It was a humanitarian gesture, highlighting
0:22:14 > 0:22:16his connection to the region.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19But it would be his last.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21Sabine was still the race's figurehead,
0:22:21 > 0:22:22but struggling to delegate.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25From organising in Paris
0:22:25 > 0:22:27to helicopter rescues in the desert,
0:22:27 > 0:22:29Sabine was hands-on.
0:22:31 > 0:22:36On January 14th, 1986, it all came to a head.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38Whilst Sabine was in his management helicopter
0:22:38 > 0:22:40overseeing the event,
0:22:40 > 0:22:44it was engulfed by a sudden sandstorm.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46Deep in the Malian desert,
0:22:46 > 0:22:50the helicopter spun out of control and crashed into a dune.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52Sabine was instantly killed,
0:22:52 > 0:22:54along with four others.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59The wreckage of the white helicopter, named Sierra,
0:22:59 > 0:23:02was scattered over 400 metres.
0:23:05 > 0:23:09I was arriving around half an hour after.
0:23:09 > 0:23:15I have seen all the parts of the helicopter...it was over.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17And Thierry was in a plastic bag.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21So sad, I prefer you don't say it,
0:23:21 > 0:23:23because it was horrible.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41I have to say some of it is almost blocked out in my memory.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43Of course, it's shocking.
0:23:43 > 0:23:47You don't expect that, especially not when you're young.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50When you're young, everything goes for you.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52He was too low.
0:23:52 > 0:23:54When he start, he was doing that...
0:23:54 > 0:23:57I don't know how you say it in English.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00I think, "Once, he is going to touch the floor."
0:24:00 > 0:24:03He had bad luck.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05No-one was sure who was actually flying
0:24:05 > 0:24:08the helicopter at the time of the crash,
0:24:08 > 0:24:10Francois-Xavier Bagnoud,
0:24:10 > 0:24:13a fresh-faced pilot on his first job for the rally,
0:24:13 > 0:24:15or Sabine himself.
0:24:22 > 0:24:28I knew him even when he was 13 or something like this.
0:24:28 > 0:24:33He always, always, always did stupid things.
0:24:33 > 0:24:38He never knew what limit was.
0:24:38 > 0:24:44He had an incredible number of crashes with cars
0:24:44 > 0:24:50and that's why he never did a better career as a rally driver.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53He finished so few races.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55When you don't finish, you don't win.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58It's some kind of a shame,
0:24:58 > 0:25:03because I think Thierry could still have done many big things.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06While the bodies of Sabine and the other victims
0:25:06 > 0:25:08were repatriated to France,
0:25:08 > 0:25:11the race continued on to Dakar.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14It was thought it would be a fitting memorial to Sabine,
0:25:14 > 0:25:17but most found their heart wasn't in it.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35Out of the 131 motorcycle entrants,
0:25:35 > 0:25:37102 would fail to finish.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41Of these, two would die - one hit by a car
0:25:41 > 0:25:43and another when his liver was ruptured by a brake lever,
0:25:43 > 0:25:47whilst a third rider would be left in a coma...
0:25:47 > 0:25:49..for 24 years.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52The race had lost its innocence.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54I think for a very long time,
0:25:54 > 0:25:57I kind of closed myself in and stayed in for a long time.
0:25:57 > 0:26:01As time goes, you put all your feelings where they belong
0:26:01 > 0:26:03and you tend to appreciate that you have had
0:26:03 > 0:26:07this long and wonderful time
0:26:07 > 0:26:09with a person like that.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11That is so much more important
0:26:11 > 0:26:16than that very brief moment of loss.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18Incredible, he was so funny.
0:26:18 > 0:26:23It was a very nice part of my life.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26For sure, I loved him.
0:26:26 > 0:26:30But I tried so many times to say, "Thierry, don't get crazy.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33"Thierry, pass your motoring licence.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36"Thierry..."
0:26:36 > 0:26:38Completely loss of time.
0:26:42 > 0:26:44Sabine's ashes were eventually scattered by a tree
0:26:44 > 0:26:46in the Niger desert,
0:26:46 > 0:26:50and his father, Gilbert, took over organising the event.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54Many wondered whether the rally could survive the loss
0:26:54 > 0:26:55of its charismatic leader,
0:26:55 > 0:26:59whether the rally's original spirit had died with him.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08In 1987, the arrival of Peugeot
0:27:08 > 0:27:12would challenge the very nature of what Sabine had created.
0:27:12 > 0:27:16The heyday of the amateur adventurer was over.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20Peugeot had earned their place in French motor sport history.
0:27:20 > 0:27:24A huge factory team, they and their drivers dominated
0:27:24 > 0:27:28the World Rally Championship during the early '80s.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31'The tortuous nature of the roads, the long special stages
0:27:31 > 0:27:32'and the unfortunate accidents
0:27:32 > 0:27:36'make this event tough, tiring and very difficult.
0:27:36 > 0:27:37'It takes ice-cool nerves.'
0:27:37 > 0:27:40But lax rules and technical excesses in world rallying
0:27:40 > 0:27:43had led to a series of fatal accidents,
0:27:43 > 0:27:46including the death of three spectators.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48The Group B cars, as they were known,
0:27:48 > 0:27:52were banned from the World Rally Championship.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55Rather than mothball their cars,
0:27:55 > 0:27:59Peugeot decided to take them to Africa.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15The exposure Peugeot sought required nothing less than a win.
0:28:15 > 0:28:17The driver they turned to
0:28:17 > 0:28:20was former world champion Ari Vatanen,
0:28:20 > 0:28:23still in recovery from a near-fatal crash.
0:28:25 > 0:28:29I was still in an extreme depression
0:28:29 > 0:28:32and I thought everything was finished in my life.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35I could see no life, no light, no hope
0:28:35 > 0:28:37and then, when I came out of the darkness,
0:28:37 > 0:28:42like the wakening up out of a nightmare,
0:28:42 > 0:28:45then suddenly I was testing a car
0:28:45 > 0:28:48in the most beautiful part of the Sahara.
0:28:48 > 0:28:52My past came back to life.
0:28:58 > 0:29:03Peugeot took their World Championship-winning 205 T16
0:29:03 > 0:29:05and modified it for the rigours of the desert.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08Two shock absorbers on each wheel strengthened the suspension,
0:29:08 > 0:29:11and the chassis lengthened to accommodate eight times
0:29:11 > 0:29:14the fuel of a standard road car.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17Few amateurs could have afforded a car of this standing.
0:29:17 > 0:29:19Have you done any testing with this Peugeot?
0:29:19 > 0:29:21At the end of October,
0:29:21 > 0:29:24we were in Niger for a couple of weeks
0:29:24 > 0:29:27and the car seems to be very good, and very strong.
0:29:27 > 0:29:29If it can make it to Dakar somehow,
0:29:29 > 0:29:33they would finish in a nice place but it's a long, long rally.
0:29:33 > 0:29:37Ari's return to competition got off to a disastrous start
0:29:37 > 0:29:39in the showcase Paris prologue.
0:29:39 > 0:29:42Suspension failure and a crash into a bank
0:29:42 > 0:29:44left him requiring the help of spectators
0:29:44 > 0:29:47to get him over the line.
0:29:47 > 0:29:49Peugeot had the resources to repair the car.
0:29:49 > 0:29:54Nothing would stop them from entering the Sahara.
0:29:58 > 0:30:01It's enormous, it's vast, it humbles you.
0:30:01 > 0:30:06Or, if you go in with overconfidence, it belittles you.
0:30:09 > 0:30:11You come out of the Sahara a different person
0:30:11 > 0:30:15because you don't rule the Sahara, you don't dictate your terms,
0:30:15 > 0:30:18the Sahara dictates its terms on you.
0:30:20 > 0:30:23You feel total liberty,
0:30:23 > 0:30:26but you can pay the price
0:30:26 > 0:30:28for your liberty.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31You don't know where the parameters are, where the borders are.
0:30:31 > 0:30:33You don't know how far to go in your liberty
0:30:33 > 0:30:35and when you should back off.
0:30:37 > 0:30:40Only if you arrive at Dakar,
0:30:40 > 0:30:42you know if you've got your bets right or wrong.
0:30:46 > 0:30:48The landscape is staggering.
0:30:48 > 0:30:51In the morning, at the start line,
0:30:51 > 0:30:52the sun is rising
0:30:52 > 0:30:55and you see that desert in front of you,
0:30:55 > 0:30:57and the world is yours in a way.
0:31:00 > 0:31:02I'm a lucky boy.
0:31:03 > 0:31:06'The Peugeot lion of Ari Vatanen was preparing to pounce.
0:31:06 > 0:31:09'The Finn proved he'd put his early troubles well and truly behind him
0:31:09 > 0:31:12'by completing the tough 700-kilometre stage
0:31:12 > 0:31:14'six minutes quicker than anyone else
0:31:14 > 0:31:18'and the 205 Turbo was really coming into its own.'
0:31:18 > 0:31:22Peugeot had dominated rallying by an inspired car,
0:31:22 > 0:31:24the meticulous planning of Jean Todt
0:31:24 > 0:31:26and huge backup resources.
0:31:26 > 0:31:30They took a similar approach to the Sahara.
0:31:30 > 0:31:32The desert became their workshop.
0:31:32 > 0:31:34The Peugeot team was the most powerful the event
0:31:34 > 0:31:36had ever encountered.
0:31:40 > 0:31:43'With a plume of luminous dust streaming out behind him,
0:31:43 > 0:31:46'the lion of the desert drives out of the dawn
0:31:46 > 0:31:47'and even further into the lead.'
0:31:47 > 0:31:50'Only 2,000 kilometres to go.'
0:31:50 > 0:31:54Is it a machine that's beatable, this Peugeot steamroller?
0:31:54 > 0:31:56No, the Peugeot might be a problem,
0:31:56 > 0:31:59but the biggest problem is Jean Todt, as far as I'm concerned,
0:31:59 > 0:32:01because his organisation is excellent.
0:32:01 > 0:32:03And he's just proving that.
0:32:03 > 0:32:04It's absolutely spot-on.
0:32:04 > 0:32:06He has just covered every point.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09When you come back from the darkness I was coming from,
0:32:09 > 0:32:11and go into the Sahara,
0:32:11 > 0:32:14I had the feeling as a human being, nothing could stop me.
0:32:22 > 0:32:25Vatanen's was a personal triumph,
0:32:25 > 0:32:29but for the Paris-Dakar it was the dawn of a clinical professionalism.
0:32:29 > 0:32:31For some, Peugeot's approach
0:32:31 > 0:32:33and sheer scale of resources
0:32:33 > 0:32:35had spoilt the event,
0:32:35 > 0:32:37arguing it was now just about winning.
0:32:37 > 0:32:42Everyone would have to go faster to keep up.
0:32:42 > 0:32:44Thierry Sabine had been a passionate racer
0:32:44 > 0:32:47but he also loved Africa.
0:32:47 > 0:32:51He saw the rally as an opportunity to combine both.
0:32:51 > 0:32:54Some questioned whether this was still possible,
0:32:54 > 0:32:58and whether the rally's current relationship with Africa was justifiable.
0:32:58 > 0:32:59If somebody said to me,
0:32:59 > 0:33:03"I experienced solitude in the desert,
0:33:03 > 0:33:06"so I'm organising a thousand people to go, would you like to come?"
0:33:06 > 0:33:08I'd say, "No, I wouldn't."
0:33:08 > 0:33:10Because there won't be any solitude.
0:33:10 > 0:33:13It stops being the desert if you take a lot of people there -
0:33:13 > 0:33:15it's not deserted any more.
0:33:15 > 0:33:18The Paris-Dakar was a vehicle
0:33:18 > 0:33:21to pass the message,
0:33:21 > 0:33:24to open people's eyes.
0:33:24 > 0:33:29Otherwise, those countries don't get any publicity,
0:33:29 > 0:33:32they don't get any airtime.
0:33:32 > 0:33:34If there are regulations governing
0:33:34 > 0:33:36the use of these cars
0:33:36 > 0:33:38on French or European roads,
0:33:38 > 0:33:41so effectively they're banned from Europe,
0:33:41 > 0:33:46I think there's a moral issue
0:33:46 > 0:33:48that if something is illegal in Europe,
0:33:48 > 0:33:50why do you export it to Africa?
0:33:54 > 0:33:57'For Guinea, this is quite an invasion.
0:33:57 > 0:34:00'These are the first new vehicles they've seen here
0:34:00 > 0:34:05'for some 15 years, since the French pulled out.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08'For the spectators a none-too-gentle request
0:34:08 > 0:34:10'to get into line.
0:34:10 > 0:34:12'A timely reminder
0:34:12 > 0:34:14'that this is Africa.'
0:34:14 > 0:34:18While debate over the moral issues of the event rumbled on,
0:34:18 > 0:34:20in 1988 it celebrated its tenth anniversary,
0:34:20 > 0:34:24attracting a record 603 teams.
0:34:24 > 0:34:28With them came a new breed of super truck.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31Ever since the first rally,
0:34:31 > 0:34:34the mechanical support trucks had been fighting to keep up with
0:34:34 > 0:34:35the racers they supported.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38So it was decided to create a separate category.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41Now trucks could join in the fun.
0:34:41 > 0:34:47But DAF and their new prototype, the X1, would take things yet further.
0:34:47 > 0:34:51"Let's try two engines. Let's try two engines with two turbos.
0:34:51 > 0:34:53"Let's try two engines with three turbos."
0:34:53 > 0:34:56And it just goes on and on.
0:34:56 > 0:35:00'Tipped to win is one of two monstrous twin-engined brutes,
0:35:00 > 0:35:02'each with six turbochargers
0:35:02 > 0:35:05'and the acceleration of a sports car.'
0:35:05 > 0:35:10Chris Ross was a 24-year-old working for DAF's British partners, Leyland.
0:35:10 > 0:35:12He was selected to be the mechanic
0:35:12 > 0:35:15supporting Dutch drivers Theo van der Rijt
0:35:15 > 0:35:17and Kees van Loevezijn.
0:35:17 > 0:35:19Me mum's a bit worried.
0:35:19 > 0:35:23She's a bit worried about the safety aspect.
0:35:23 > 0:35:26She would have good reason to be.
0:35:26 > 0:35:28Instead of being a celebration,
0:35:28 > 0:35:31the tenth Paris-Dakar hit a new low.
0:35:31 > 0:35:34DAF and Chris Ross were involved in the first of a series
0:35:34 > 0:35:36of tragic accidents.
0:35:37 > 0:35:40More intense racing in more powerful vehicles
0:35:40 > 0:35:42had perhaps made this inevitable.
0:35:44 > 0:35:48In northeast Niger, on the ninth stage of the rally,
0:35:48 > 0:35:51the competitors lined up, 20 abreast.
0:35:51 > 0:35:55It would be a spectacular mass start for the media.
0:35:55 > 0:35:58It was a day when they called it a "mass start,"
0:35:58 > 0:36:01in order to give it some kind of sensational aspect.
0:36:01 > 0:36:04Basically, it's all for the cameras.
0:36:04 > 0:36:07You're going off hell-for-leather and everybody does it.
0:36:07 > 0:36:10The red mist comes down and everybody wants to be
0:36:10 > 0:36:11going fastest.
0:36:13 > 0:36:15We had a factory Nissan driver
0:36:15 > 0:36:17next to us who just wouldn't back down,
0:36:17 > 0:36:21so he was going faster and faster, we were going faster and faster.
0:36:21 > 0:36:23We were more and more off-track,
0:36:23 > 0:36:25we hit these rocky outcrops,
0:36:25 > 0:36:28about 18 inches high.
0:36:28 > 0:36:31If you did it slowly in that vehicle, it would have been fine.
0:36:31 > 0:36:36But you did it at high speed, and you went into a rolling motion.
0:36:36 > 0:36:39There was an immense thud.
0:36:39 > 0:36:41It was like the corner
0:36:41 > 0:36:44of a metal object
0:36:44 > 0:36:47being stabbed into the ground really hard.
0:36:47 > 0:36:50Noise, dust, darkness.
0:36:50 > 0:36:52And then, still.
0:36:52 > 0:36:55Quiet.
0:36:56 > 0:36:59I couldn't see anything, I thought I was blind.
0:36:59 > 0:37:01I put my hand down and my leg was in the wrong place.
0:37:01 > 0:37:04At the knees, it was bent in the wrong direction.
0:37:04 > 0:37:06From the impact,
0:37:06 > 0:37:09Chris Ross and driver Theo van der Rijt
0:37:09 > 0:37:11were flown straight to hospital,
0:37:11 > 0:37:16Van der Rijt with a broken arm and a cracked vertebrae.
0:37:16 > 0:37:18Co-driver Kees van Loevezijn
0:37:18 > 0:37:21was thrown 50 metres from the wreckage.
0:37:21 > 0:37:24His neck was broken.
0:37:24 > 0:37:27The truck's cab was crushed flat.
0:37:27 > 0:37:30The inside of the cabin was completely filled
0:37:30 > 0:37:32with roll cages,
0:37:32 > 0:37:34except you don't imagine that kind of crash case -
0:37:34 > 0:37:37that a ten-ton vehicle will crash
0:37:37 > 0:37:41at over a hundred miles an hour and hit a sudden stop.
0:37:41 > 0:37:44So whether you tested the crash scenario
0:37:44 > 0:37:46to that level is another story.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49DAF withdrew from the race immediately
0:37:49 > 0:37:54and Chris was repatriated to a hospital in the Netherlands.
0:37:56 > 0:37:59They didn't know why I was losing blood.
0:37:59 > 0:38:02My small intestine had come adrift
0:38:02 > 0:38:05and was actually pumping the blood
0:38:05 > 0:38:08and poison into my system.
0:38:08 > 0:38:12Two weeks later, they discovered I'd broken my back.
0:38:12 > 0:38:14One of the vertebrae was cracked
0:38:14 > 0:38:16and was actually in danger
0:38:16 > 0:38:18of collapsing outwards,
0:38:18 > 0:38:22which would have left me paralysed, but luckily the physiotherapist
0:38:22 > 0:38:25noticed and confined me to bed then.
0:38:27 > 0:38:29The death of Kees
0:38:29 > 0:38:32was an awful thing.
0:38:32 > 0:38:34It took some getting over at the time
0:38:34 > 0:38:36because he was a good friend.
0:38:36 > 0:38:38But I think
0:38:38 > 0:38:41if you enjoyed the experience,
0:38:41 > 0:38:44even the downside
0:38:44 > 0:38:46holds some memories...
0:38:48 > 0:38:50..and some positivity comes out of it.
0:38:50 > 0:38:55My first and only experience of a Paris-Dakar
0:38:55 > 0:38:57ended on day nine...
0:38:57 > 0:39:00..of a 21-day race.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05Despite the DAF tragedy,
0:39:05 > 0:39:07the 1988 rally continued south.
0:39:07 > 0:39:10Four more deaths followed,
0:39:10 > 0:39:13including two local people, one a child.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16The tenth anniversary rally was turning into a nightmare.
0:39:16 > 0:39:22A Dakar-based news agency questioned the ethics of the race,
0:39:22 > 0:39:26suggesting the deaths of the locals were seen as "insignificant."
0:39:28 > 0:39:32Africa and its people were starting to pay a heavy price.
0:39:32 > 0:39:34Are you going to do Paris-Dakar again?
0:39:34 > 0:39:36No.
0:39:36 > 0:39:38This year was terrible -
0:39:38 > 0:39:40too difficult, much stress.
0:39:42 > 0:39:43In spite of its troubles,
0:39:43 > 0:39:46the Paris-Dakar had become a huge success.
0:39:46 > 0:39:49Covered on TV and in the world's press,
0:39:49 > 0:39:51it was now a global event.
0:39:51 > 0:39:52The big manufacturers
0:39:52 > 0:39:56had brought cut-throat competition and kudos.
0:39:57 > 0:40:01Amateurs looking for eccentric adventure could still enter
0:40:01 > 0:40:05but it was now a race and it was now a brand.
0:40:09 > 0:40:13Competitors still slept in tents at makeshift camps
0:40:13 > 0:40:15but it was no longer a ramshackle affair.
0:40:15 > 0:40:18Top mechanics were flown around by plane.
0:40:19 > 0:40:23The event was now a major fixture on the sporting calendar,
0:40:23 > 0:40:24and could not be ignored.
0:40:25 > 0:40:29North African leaders woke up to the opportunity to use
0:40:29 > 0:40:31the rally for promotion,
0:40:31 > 0:40:35Colonel Gaddafi inviting the race to pass through Libya in 1989,
0:40:35 > 0:40:38where he gave free petrol to competitors.
0:40:41 > 0:40:45Also in 1989, a new technology would be unveiled that made
0:40:45 > 0:40:47being lost in the desert impossible.
0:40:50 > 0:40:53What the Paris-Dakar lost in adventure, it gained in safety.
0:41:00 > 0:41:02There is a military technology that allows you to
0:41:02 > 0:41:05pinpoint your position anywhere in the world.
0:41:05 > 0:41:07The global positioning system, or GPS for short,
0:41:07 > 0:41:11would seduce the latest crop of Dakar competitors.
0:41:15 > 0:41:19The spirit of the Dakar was not too much information
0:41:19 > 0:41:25and go from A to B, and the fastest can win the race.
0:41:33 > 0:41:36In a landscape that has very few reference points,
0:41:36 > 0:41:40and one of those, sand dunes, is constantly moving, a device
0:41:40 > 0:41:44that can pinpoint your exact position soon becomes indispensable.
0:41:44 > 0:41:50People, some of us, have what we call the nose.
0:41:50 > 0:41:56They don't need a map or indication, we say, we go there,
0:41:56 > 0:41:58and most of the time it is a good road.
0:41:59 > 0:42:03That is something that has been totally killed by the GPS.
0:42:04 > 0:42:09My first Dakar, I was completely lost. I walked the night,
0:42:09 > 0:42:13six or eight hours to find a small village. It was like an adventure.
0:42:13 > 0:42:17After, with the GPS, it was a completely different race,
0:42:17 > 0:42:19it was really a race of speed.
0:42:20 > 0:42:23It is normal, it is in life,
0:42:23 > 0:42:29the only thing that doesn't change is the relationship of humans, you know.
0:42:29 > 0:42:31And you mustn't forget it.
0:42:31 > 0:42:35The big thing, we don't lose anybody any more in the desert.
0:42:35 > 0:42:37We have a GPS and know exactly where we are.
0:42:37 > 0:42:41GPS had forever changed man's relationship with the desert.
0:42:41 > 0:42:45Competitors could now enter the wilderness of the Sahara
0:42:45 > 0:42:49safe in the knowledge they could be found, should they break down.
0:42:49 > 0:42:51However, one thing a GPS couldn't do
0:42:51 > 0:42:52was give you any information
0:42:52 > 0:42:56about the political landscape you were driving through.
0:43:00 > 0:43:05No nation will be permitted to brutally assault its neighbour.
0:43:05 > 0:43:08The American Defence Secretary Dick Cheney has announced plans
0:43:08 > 0:43:10to call up thousands more reserve troops
0:43:10 > 0:43:12to support the Gulf operation.
0:43:12 > 0:43:14As the competitors were getting ready
0:43:14 > 0:43:16for the 1991 edition of the Rally,
0:43:16 > 0:43:19NATO and Iraq were getting ready for war.
0:43:20 > 0:43:24With the route passing through the pro-Iraqi state of Mauritania
0:43:24 > 0:43:28and Libya, the volatile Chad, Mali and Niger,
0:43:28 > 0:43:30the rally was now on a collision course
0:43:30 > 0:43:32with North African political unrest.
0:43:56 > 0:44:00Joel Guyomarc'h and his veteran co-driver Charles Cabannes
0:44:00 > 0:44:03were driving Ari Vatanen's support truck.
0:44:03 > 0:44:08After six days and 5,000 kilometres of desert driving, they entered
0:44:08 > 0:44:11an area of Mali where Tuareg rebels were in armed conflict
0:44:11 > 0:44:13with the government.
0:45:11 > 0:45:13After several days of anti-government unrest
0:45:13 > 0:45:15in the West African state of Mali,
0:45:15 > 0:45:17the army and police say they have seized power.
0:45:17 > 0:45:19Cabannes's killers were never found,
0:45:19 > 0:45:22but with a Tuareg uprising in Mali's east,
0:45:22 > 0:45:25and a government under pressure from its citizens in the west,
0:45:25 > 0:45:29the rally had come face-to-face with a country on the brink.
0:45:29 > 0:45:30Questions were being asked
0:45:30 > 0:45:34if this was really a suitable place to hold a sporting event.
0:45:34 > 0:45:37Any answer would come too late for Charles Cabannes's family.
0:46:04 > 0:46:07There was no minute's silence to mark Cabannes's death.
0:46:07 > 0:46:09And the next day, under a military escort,
0:46:09 > 0:46:12all the competitors travelled through what was left of Mali.
0:46:14 > 0:46:18John Watson Miller was one of Britain's best off-road bikers,
0:46:18 > 0:46:20and was part of the racing convoy.
0:46:21 > 0:46:23In the bivouac and the Rally
0:46:23 > 0:46:26you are protected totally from the outside environment,
0:46:26 > 0:46:29you do not know what country you're in,
0:46:29 > 0:46:31you just concentrate on your racing.
0:46:31 > 0:46:37When I was on the road on my own, I encountered, basically, a war zone.
0:46:37 > 0:46:40The next country they were to visit was Mauritania,
0:46:40 > 0:46:42now siding with Iraq in the Gulf War.
0:46:42 > 0:46:46For an Englishman, John Watson Miller,
0:46:46 > 0:46:48this was not the best place to be heading.
0:46:49 > 0:46:52It was certainly flagged up to me,
0:46:52 > 0:46:57the dangers of me going into Mauritania, but I had a mission
0:46:57 > 0:47:03and my mission was to become the first Englishman to finish the rally.
0:47:04 > 0:47:09I was prepared to die trying to do it, it was that important to me.
0:47:13 > 0:47:17Later, Watson Miller had a gun held to his head by armed militia.
0:47:18 > 0:47:21Fortunately, he could speak French.
0:47:21 > 0:47:28They demanded my papers, and that's when a gun was taken out to me.
0:47:28 > 0:47:33I was just very aware of, "I mustn't show them my passport.
0:47:33 > 0:47:37"And I mustn't give them any idea that I am English".
0:47:37 > 0:47:40It was too quick to have time to think about it.
0:47:40 > 0:47:44The time to think about it was when I was walking back to my bike.
0:47:44 > 0:47:48And that, as I say, was the longest 20 or 30 yards I have ever walked.
0:47:48 > 0:47:53In the end, John Watson Miller broke both legs in separate crashes
0:47:53 > 0:47:54and never finished the race.
0:47:56 > 0:48:00First to Dakar was Ari Vatanen in his Citroen.
0:48:00 > 0:48:03A record-breaking fourth win for him.
0:48:03 > 0:48:06In the motorcycle category, Stephane Peterhansel took victory,
0:48:06 > 0:48:10marking the rise of a new star.
0:48:10 > 0:48:12But 1991 had been a bad year,
0:48:12 > 0:48:15with another fatal crash killing Francois Picquot.
0:48:18 > 0:48:21Danger had always been part of the event.
0:48:21 > 0:48:24It's what made it attractive to some.
0:48:24 > 0:48:27This ethos was the legacy of the race's founder.
0:49:00 > 0:49:03With all of the difficulties surrounding the Rally,
0:49:03 > 0:49:05the next time they were confronted by a serious threat
0:49:05 > 0:49:09they airlifted all of the competitors over the problem region.
0:49:13 > 0:49:16The rally was gaining a notorious reputation
0:49:16 > 0:49:20and had claimed 29 victims in just 13 years,
0:49:20 > 0:49:23including motorcyclists, truck and car drivers,
0:49:23 > 0:49:31African bystanders, journalists, two pilots and the founding organiser.
0:49:31 > 0:49:34But on this race you always share
0:49:34 > 0:49:37between the fascination of this race,
0:49:37 > 0:49:40but also the reality of this race
0:49:40 > 0:49:42and sometimes the reality is not very nice.
0:49:43 > 0:49:45But...
0:49:45 > 0:49:49you need to find your way on what is more important,
0:49:49 > 0:49:56the fascination and the adventure or the risk of the accident.
0:49:56 > 0:49:58And for me,
0:49:58 > 0:50:03the fascination of this race was always stronger than the other thing.
0:50:07 > 0:50:09By now, the event had been bought out
0:50:09 > 0:50:11by a French sporting dynasty, ASO.
0:50:12 > 0:50:15Based in Paris, the Amaury Sporting Organisation
0:50:15 > 0:50:18owned both the Tour de France and Roland Garros,
0:50:18 > 0:50:21the home of the French tennis open.
0:50:21 > 0:50:24They employed the Dakar legend Hubert Auriol
0:50:24 > 0:50:27to dispel the storm clouds that were forming around the event.
0:50:27 > 0:50:30Entries were now down by nearly three quarters
0:50:30 > 0:50:32since its mid-'80s heyday.
0:50:32 > 0:50:35Many thought the spirit had become compromised.
0:50:35 > 0:50:38Hubert Auriol had won the Paris-Dakar three times,
0:50:38 > 0:50:42and an incident when he had ridden on with two broken legs
0:50:42 > 0:50:44was part of the rally's folklore.
0:50:47 > 0:50:50Jean-Claude Killy, head of the ASO,
0:50:50 > 0:50:53saw in Auriol someone who could rescue the event.
0:50:53 > 0:50:55He told me,
0:50:55 > 0:50:57"Here are the keys of the house, you know what you have to do".
0:50:58 > 0:51:02You know, when you get those words, it is a kind of,
0:51:02 > 0:51:05how could I say it, it is unbelievable.
0:51:07 > 0:51:09The first thing is the dream.
0:51:09 > 0:51:14You have the marketing side. It is easy, because it was my dream,
0:51:14 > 0:51:18so it was easy to share my dream with the others
0:51:18 > 0:51:23because I was issued from the inside, you know.
0:51:23 > 0:51:27Auriol set about attracting more private entrants
0:51:27 > 0:51:30and putting a sense of adventure back into the event.
0:51:30 > 0:51:34He took it to Egypt, South Africa and back to Niger.
0:51:35 > 0:51:39Auriol restricted big budget teams from exploiting new GPS technology.
0:51:40 > 0:51:43The result was a victory for Jean-Louis Schlesser's buggy,
0:51:43 > 0:51:46the first time a private team had won in over a decade.
0:51:49 > 0:51:51Yes, it was a very important victory
0:51:51 > 0:51:53because what makes the race is the fight,
0:51:53 > 0:51:57if you don't have the fight there is no interest for the media.
0:51:57 > 0:52:04He kept driving his buggies, he kept the kind of freshness on the race,
0:52:04 > 0:52:09he has a private team and it's a private team against factories.
0:52:09 > 0:52:10That's important,
0:52:10 > 0:52:14because that was the story of Dakar since the beginning.
0:52:14 > 0:52:18When we beat the big company I was very happy, in fact,
0:52:20 > 0:52:22for all of the team, you know? For my mechanic.
0:52:22 > 0:52:26And all of the tricks and with my co-pilot helping,
0:52:26 > 0:52:31we remind all the small special things we did to win, you know,
0:52:31 > 0:52:36and at the end with the sum of the good things, you are the winner.
0:52:37 > 0:52:40FRENCH COMMENTARY
0:52:47 > 0:52:51Jean-Louis Schlesser's maverick approach and dominance
0:52:51 > 0:52:53was too much for the big factory teams,
0:52:53 > 0:52:55causing Mitsubishi frustration in 2001.
0:53:01 > 0:53:03New safety regulations were introduced
0:53:03 > 0:53:06and the glamour of the Rally restored under Auriol's leadership,
0:53:06 > 0:53:08but the death toll continued,
0:53:08 > 0:53:11one in each of the next three years.
0:53:11 > 0:53:12But with the ASO
0:53:12 > 0:53:15came a resolve to make the event more commercialised.
0:53:15 > 0:53:17This was causing problems on the ground
0:53:17 > 0:53:19as the local population
0:53:19 > 0:53:22was used to making money when the Rally came to town.
0:53:22 > 0:53:26Development expert Emmanuel Gregoire was in Niger
0:53:26 > 0:53:30doing a field study when the bivouac descended on Agadez.
0:53:44 > 0:53:47In the year Gregoire was in Agadez, the organisers
0:53:47 > 0:53:51built a wall around the bivouac, alienating the local people
0:53:51 > 0:53:55and preventing them from interacting with the competitors.
0:53:55 > 0:53:59Long gone were the days when competitors brought their own food.
0:54:05 > 0:54:08The organisers argued they needed guaranteed supplies
0:54:08 > 0:54:12for the now 2,500 entourage at a predictable cost,
0:54:12 > 0:54:15so jetted them in themselves.
0:54:40 > 0:54:42Was the wall symbolic of a culture clash?
0:54:42 > 0:54:45Could both sides ever profit from the exchange?
0:54:48 > 0:54:51Over the years, the locals have been trying to make enough money
0:54:51 > 0:54:54in one week to survive for one whole year.
0:54:54 > 0:54:57Would the now commercialised event continue to be welcomed
0:54:57 > 0:55:00if most of the Africans were only expected to sell
0:55:00 > 0:55:01trinkets on the starting line?
0:55:03 > 0:55:06For others, like the French Green party,
0:55:06 > 0:55:07the ethos was being questioned.
0:55:19 > 0:55:22In spite of the increased professionalism,
0:55:22 > 0:55:25the Paris-Dakar managed to maintain its notorious reputation
0:55:25 > 0:55:28as the most extreme Rally challenge.
0:55:28 > 0:55:32Even World Rally champion Colin McRae could not tame the desert.
0:55:33 > 0:55:37In 2005, five more would die, including a young local girl.
0:55:39 > 0:55:41Serious questions were being asked
0:55:41 > 0:55:44whether this could continue for much longer,
0:55:44 > 0:55:47including heavy criticism from the office of the Pope.
0:56:03 > 0:56:07Unfortunately, things would get considerably worse.
0:56:07 > 0:56:09The event had always struggled to divorce itself
0:56:09 > 0:56:13from the politics of the continent through which it passed.
0:56:13 > 0:56:16As 2007 dawned, Islamist terror groups
0:56:16 > 0:56:19were operating along the Rally's proposed route.
0:56:19 > 0:56:23After the horrific slaughter of four tourists in Mauritania,
0:56:23 > 0:56:26Al-Qaeda then threatened to murder the Rally's competitors.
0:56:26 > 0:56:28It was the final nail in the coffin
0:56:28 > 0:56:32and ended the Rally's African adventure for good.
0:56:38 > 0:56:44I was really sad, not only for us, for the drivers,
0:56:44 > 0:56:47and the riders, but also for the African people.
0:56:56 > 0:56:59In the 28 years that the event was run in Africa,
0:56:59 > 0:57:01almost 10,000 teams had entered,
0:57:01 > 0:57:04clocking up almost a quarter of a million miles.
0:57:04 > 0:57:05Over 60 people were killed,
0:57:05 > 0:57:09racing around the second largest and hottest desert on the planet.
0:57:09 > 0:57:11Its demise brought to a close
0:57:11 > 0:57:14one of the biggest human challenges ever conceived.
0:57:33 > 0:57:35There is this whole thing about Africa.
0:57:35 > 0:57:37Once you get it under your skin, it really belongs to you
0:57:37 > 0:57:41and you want to go back, you want to enjoy it again and again.
0:57:41 > 0:57:44It is really a challenge on your motivation
0:57:44 > 0:57:46during all of the year,
0:57:46 > 0:57:50and I don't know what I will do when I stop the Dakar.
0:57:55 > 0:57:57When you see a young shoeless boy
0:57:57 > 0:58:03with his glowing eyes and then you see this parade of cars
0:58:03 > 0:58:06going by or even stopping, that gives him, that makes him dream.
0:58:15 > 0:58:17There are many elements to the Dakar
0:58:17 > 0:58:20and if I'm a footnote in its history, that is fine.
0:58:20 > 0:58:26All the people who raced in this very first Dakar,
0:58:26 > 0:58:28we are very tight together.
0:58:28 > 0:58:32And even if we were not friends at the beginning,
0:58:32 > 0:58:34we finished all friends.
0:58:48 > 0:58:51Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd