JOHN WICK's David Leitch to Produce Amblin's Biopic About the First Woman to Win Off-road Endurance Race 'The Dakar Rally'

photo credit: BBC

David Leitch, director of John Wick, Deadpool 2 and Hobbs & Shaw, has partnered with Amblin, as well as producing partner Kelly McCormick on a new project for the big screen. They are adapting a biopic based on the book My Victory at Dakar, by Jutta Kleinschmidt, who was “the first and only woman to win the brutal off-road endurance race The Dakar Rally.”

Variety describes the treacherous race:

The Dakar Rally – often called the most dangerous race on the planet – is found at the intersection of impossible terrain and logistical blindness. Originating in 1978, the multi-stage race began in Paris and ended in Dakar, Senegal. Now, some 40 years later, the race has claimed over 70 lives and victory at Dakar remains the Everest of motorsports. The 2020 rally took place in the Saudi Arabian desert for the first time, and drivers weren’t told the course until minutes before the start of each stage.

And Kleinschmidt’s journey:

Kleinschmidt, who was born in Germany, bought her first motorcycle at age 18. After studying physics, she worked at BMW for six years before quitting in 1992 to pursue her passion of motorsports. In 1997, she became the first woman ever to win a stage of the rally and, in 1999, she earned recognition – finishing third overall – as half of the first all-female team to stand on the winners’ podium. In 2001, after 15 years of trying, Kleinschmidt won the race.

The script will be penned by Greta Heinemann (Good Girls), “who grew up on the Bavarian-Austrian border, just minutes from where Kleinschmidt was raised.” This sounds like an inspiring and exciting story that will make for a great movie. Are you interested in this kind of sports movie?