Sam
Sunderland
United Kingdom
·
Rally Raid
Date of birth | April 15, 1989 |
|---|---|
Birthplace | Southampton |
Age | 36 |
Nationality | United Kingdom |
Career start | 2012 |
Disciplines | Rally Raid Bike |
Sam Sunderland has spent his life chasing the edge. From tearing through UK motocross tracks at age seven to conquering the world’s toughest desert rallies, the British rider has carved out a place among motorsports' greatest. Now, he's taking on his boldest mission yet: a world-record attempt to become the fastest person to circumnavigate the globe on a motorbike.
But how did he get here?
Sunderland made his international breakthrough in 2011, winning stages at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and the Australasian Safari. Just a year later, he made his Dakar Rally debut at 22. Mechanical issues cut it short, but the Brit had made a mark, just three minutes off the leaders when he retired.
Over the next few seasons, Sunderland racked up podiums in world rally events, from Morocco to Sardinia, and joined the KTM factory team. But success came with setbacks: broken bones, mechanical failures, and several heart-breaking withdrawals from Dakar, including a crash in 2016 that left him with a fractured femur.
The breakthrough came in 2017, when Sunderland finally finished the Dakar Rally – and won it. He made history as the first Briton ever to claim the title. "It's overwhelming," he said after sealing victory. "Hopefully we can create some English interest now!"
Injuries returned in 2018, forcing another early exit, but Sunderland bounced back again in 2019 with a podium finish. In 2022, he switched to GasGas Factory Racing and won his second Dakar title, making him the only British rider to win the event on two continents. That same year, he also clinched the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and the FIM World Rally-Raid Championship.
Off the bike, he’s no stranger to headline moments either. In 2022, he climbed to the top of Dubai’s 828-meter Burj Khalifa for a jaw-dropping stunt in the film Yalla, becoming one of the few people ever to stand at the tower’s highest point.
More recently, Sunderland’s Dakar campaigns have been plagued by injury and misfortune, failing to finish in 2023 and 2024. After another early exit from the 2025 Dakar Rally – this time as co-driver to fellow champion Toby Price – Sunderland is returning to what he knows best: two wheels and a world-class challenge. Recording the fastest motorcycle ride around the globe is shaping up to be an epic endurance test that promises to be even tougher than the Dakar Rally itself. Sunderland is set to push his body, mind and his machine to the absolute limit across thousands of miles and countless borders.