Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1537523
Sunderland Taking Around-The-World Challenge T wo-time Dakar Rally Champion and Red Bull athlete Sam Sunderland has announced his latest goal—to become the fastest person to circumnavigate the globe on a motorcycle. The British rider aims to beat the current record of 19 days, 8 hours, and 25 minutes set in 2002. To ac - complish this, Sam will need to ride nearly 1000 miles a day for 19 days. He will pass through more than 15 coun - tries across five continents, starting and ending his jour- ney in London, England. "I know this challenge will test me to the core, physi - cally and mentally," Sunder- land said. "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 the mental fatigue. This, plus jetlag, and crazy time zones—it's going to be brutal." He is expected to cross 13 different time zones during his journey. "But that's exactly why I'm do - ing it. 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." Sunderland's journey starts in his homeland of England, marking the first stage of a six- part global trip. From there, he'll travel through Europe to Turkey, then venture into the Middle East, riding about 1200 miles from Saudi Arabia to the UAE. After a long-haul transfer, the expedition continues through the remote outback of Australia and New Zealand. From there, he'll head north to tackle the vast terrains of the USA and Canada. His path then leads to Morocco, his gateway into Africa, before looping back into Europe through Southern Spain and finally making his sprint home to the UK. The record Sunderland is chal - lenging was set by Britons Kevin and Julia Sanders, who hold the official Guinness World Records title. Of the feat, Kevin Sanders said, "Records are meant to be broken. We did this more than 20 years ago. Sam's going to face a whole new set of chal - lenges compared to back then." Sunderland will begin his record attempt in September on an "almost out of the box" Red Bull-sponsored Triumph 1200 Rally Explorer, with modifica - tions mostly to the bike's lug- gage system. CN WIND IN THE P32 Rally great Sam Sunderland hopes to break the time record for circumnavigating the globe on a motorcycle. He'll ride a Triumph 1200 Rally Explorer.