Death Race 3: Inferno (also known as Death Race 3 and Death Race: Inferno) is a 2013 American science fiction action film directed by Roel Reiné. It is the third installment in the Death Race film series and set between the events of Death Race 2 (2010) and Death Race (2008). The film was released direct-to-video on January 22, 2013.
It was followed by Death Race: Beyond Anarchy in 2018.
Plot
In 2020, Death Race owner R. H. Weyland has been forced to sell the rights to Niles York, a British billionaire who acquired the rights by a hostile takeover and intends to relocate the Death Race to South Africa. Before leaving, Weyland arranges Carl Lucas, also known as Frankenstein, to have his face fixed after it was previously disfigured. With Lucas just one win away from his freedom, York fears losing the huge Frankenstein fanbase and threatens to kill Lucas if he wins.
As the crew from Terminal Island reaches the facility in South Africa, a scuffle breaks out, forcing Lucas (in his Frankenstein persona) to intervene. However, his mask is knocked off during the fight, revealing to his team of Katrina Banks, Goldberg, and Lists that he has been hiding his identity behind the mask during their previous races.
Before the first race, the pool of female navigators are pitted against each other to participate in the "Navigator Wars", a gladiator-style armed fight to the death. The show is now hosted and produced by Satana, on behalf of York. Ten surviving navigators, including Katrina, are assigned to their drivers. Afterwards, all race participants are shot on their necks with GPS trackers, so the showrunners can track them and kill them if they attempt to escape.
The first race, in the Kalahari Desert, features terrain that calls for a different racing strategy from the one on the Terminal Island prison course. Lucas manages to regain Goldberg's trust, but not Katrina's. Eleven racers compete, but Jackal makes a jump start, only to be blown up by a tracking missile. Three racers and their navigators die during the race, while Razor beats Frankenstein to win the first day.
Katrina, still heartbroken that Lucas has kept secrets from her all along, distances herself from him. After getting a flesh wound from another brawl, Goldberg establishes a relationship with the show's surgeon, Olivia. In order to make Katrina jealous, Satana orders Psycho's navigator Amber to have sex with Lucas.
Satana and York grow suspicious of Lucas, due to his non-rebellious attitude to being forced to lose. Meanwhile, Lucas meets with his crew, apologizing and explaining what they were up against. Having regained their trust, Lucas explains that he has made a "new deal."
The second race commences with the death of three more teams. Fury is killed after being tricked by Olga Braun (Death Race's first-ever female driver), who is in turn run over by Razor. Razor struggles to handle both Lucas and Psycho before they are joined by 14K, who disabled Nero's truck before leaving him to get beaten to death by an angry mob of locals. Lucas wins the second race, but Goldberg is caught in an explosion caused by stray bullets from local war lords, and Olivia pronounces him dead.
York reminds Lucas to lose his next race, or he will have Katrina tortured. Satana discovers York wishes to replace her as producer and remove her from the Death Race so he can assume control. Before the next race, Lucas reveals to Katrina he did not sleep with Amber and professes his love to her. Before the final race, Psycho and Lucas have a chat about the identity of Frankenstein, and whether Lucas was the first or even the last.
York is determined to keep Lucas from winning at any cost. Razor disables Psycho's car, killing him. Lucas takes the lead, and York orders him killed with a tracking missile. However, 14K shoots flares to divert the missile and destroy it, saving Lucas' life and repaying his debt from the race back in Terminal Island. York fires Prudence, his secretary, who was against his actions all along.