This September, two-time Dakar Rally winner Sam Sunderland will set his sights on a record-setting journey: attempting to become the fastest person to circumnavigate the world on a motorcycle.

The current record, set in 2002 by Britons Kevin and Julia Sanders, stands at 19 days, 8 hours, and 25 minutes. To reach his goal, Sam will need to ride the equivalent of the length of the UK every single day – averaging nearly 1,000 miles daily for 19 days.

Guinness no longer formally tracks the category, but Sam’s challenge will stay true to the parameters of the current world record set twenty years ago:

• The journey must be continuous and follow a single direction around the globe
• It must start and finish at the same location
• Touch two antipodal points
• Cover a minimum of 18,000 miles on the bike, and a minimum 24,900 miles in total
• It must be on the same bike throughout 

“I know this challenge will test me to the core—physically and mentally,” says Sam, who is very familiar with what it takes to conquer the brutal Dakar Rally. To beat the record, he’ll have to ride nearly twice the daily distance of the Dakar Rally, and sustain that pace over more days. 

His route spans more than 15 countries across five continents and crosses 13 time zones. Unlike the Dakar’s remote terrain, this journey unfolds on public roads, with challenges like border crossings, shifting seasons, changing time zones, and transits over oceans. “There’ll be days when I’m out there for 15 or 16 hours in the cold and rain, heat and humidity, fighting the wind, battling exhaustion, and mental fatigue. This, plus jetlag, and crazy time zones – It’s going to be brutal,” added Sam.

Sam’s journey will begin in England and unfold in six global stages. He’ll ride from Europe into Turkey, then through the Middle East, covering about 1,200 miles from Saudi Arabia to the UAE. After an ocean transit, he’ll cross Australia’s remote outback and New Zealand’s sweeping landscapes, then head into North America to tackle the wide terrains of the USA and Canada. His path then leads to Morocco, his gateway into Africa, before looping back into Europe via southern Spain and finishing back in the UK.

Sam will take on the challenge aboard a Triumph Tiger 1200 Rally Explorer fitted with Michelin Anakee Road tires. Aside from practical additions like luggage from Triumph’s accessory range and camera gear to document the journey, the bike remains mostly untouched. Its large 7.9-gallon (30-liter) fuel tank gives him longer stretches between stops, a small but crucial advantage over the course of 18,000+ miles. 

The journey has also drawn support from current record-holders Kevin and Julia Sanders who have offered Sam insight into their record-breaking journey, and the parameters required to make a true circumnavigation. Of the feat, Kevin Sanders said: “Records are meant to be broken. We did this more than twenty years ago – Sam’s going to face a whole set of new challenges compared to back then.” 

As for what drives Sam to break this record, he says he wants to create a legacy that extends beyond the world of rally raid and off-road racing. He wants to inspire people across the world to push beyond their perceived boundaries. “I thrive on the unknown – figuring things out as I go. I’m not here to just edge past the record. I want to set a new bar, one that makes the next person really earn it, just like I have to now.”