Parisian perspective
While East and I fell in love in a Sports Bar in Uganda (see prior blog post), my love for motorsports was born in Paris when I worked for Eurosport Television as part of their Communications team. Majoring in French at University of Virginia, a study abroad program at NYU in Paris and a Summer internship with the Sports Department of Richmond’s local CBS affiliate—plus a lot of hustle to get the right working papers—helped transport me into the unexpected world of European motorsports.
As a typical American, my experience was limited to watching Nascar on TV. I had never even been to race in person at that point in my life. Suffice it say that I was not at all an avid fan.
So when I began to translate headlines of Formula 1 race results, attend MotoGP events and help to welcome VIPs to Eurosport’s signature Super Racing Weekends at paddocks across Europe, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. During my Paris days, I was also aware of the Paris-Dakar, but it took more than 20 years for me to finally connect the dots and introduce my daughter to the place where the Paris-Dakar and my love of motorsports began…
Upon arriving on a drizzly Paris morning, our Uber passed not one, but two gorgeous classic Land Rover Defenders on the way to our Airbnb; a good omen. I was likely the only person in all of the city to have the Spring 2025 edition of Rover magazine tucked in my carryon luggage, but I wanted to make sure my daughter, Caroline, understood just how pivotal the city was to the launch of the event that we watched as a family every New Year from our couch in Richmond.
That’s the whole point of our Rover adventures: To bring to life the global nature of the Land Rover adventure community and to pass along its rich history.
At the base of the Eiffel Tower, I made sure to point out the names of the 72 brilliant scientists that currently adorn the exterior of its 2nd floor. While these names are all men’s names, I shared with Caroline the news that brilliant women’s names would soon be added to this historic list and she seemed very pleased.
Once we got to the first floor where we shared a magical dinner together, I pointed to where the cars would line up below when the Paris-Dakar actually started from Paris. Shortly after this, Caroline’s birthday dessert arrived and the guests around us from all over the world paused their dinners to help sing “Happy Birthday” to her before she made a special birthday wish.
And then exactly one month after celebrating Caroline’s 12th birthday atop the Eiffel Tower, I got to tell her that in 2026, American rally driver, former motocross champion and four‑time Dakar Rally stage winner Sara Price will join Stéphane Peterhansel and Rokas Baciuška as part of the Defender Dakar Rally driving team! Maybe that’s what she wished for when she blew out her birthday candle… #DefenderGirls
