Not long ago, I reported that Sam Sunderland was gearing up to attempt to break the world record for circumnavigating the world. It was a reattempt because he broke his back in 2025, which put things on hold. But on September 5, I let out a sigh of relief, knowing he made it through training safely before taking another deep breath, which I'll hold until we find out if he beats the record in about two weeks.
The two-time Dakar Champion set off from London in the dead of night aboard the Triumph model we expected—the Tiger 1200 Rally Explorer—just not the generation we expected. Sneaky, sneaky Triumph.
The Hinckley brand posted promotional photos of Sunderland posing in front of a 2026 Red Bull-liveried Tiger 1200 Rally Explorer, but when he set off from London at 3:30 am, he was aboard an all-new bike. We can only assume it's the next-generation Tiger 1200 Rally Explorer, and from the pictures we can see it features a new twin-headlight design and a redesigned front end. Hat tip to Triumph's marketing department because I didn't see that one coming.
Photo by: Triumph The question of whether this is a genius marketing call or a poor decision will be decided by the result—no pressure, Sunderland. The stakes are high, not just in terms of beating the record, but in terms of showcasing that the new Tiger 1200 Rally Explorer is capable of doing what it's supposed to: take on the world. Should Sunderland fail, it's not the end of the world, but if that happens as a result of a mechanical issue, well, I imagine Triumph employees globally will be checking in on Sunderland's daily progress with bated breath.
Nick Bell, Chief Marketing Officer, Triumph Motorcycles added: “The scale of Sam’s Red Bull challenge is extraordinary. Covering more than 18,000 miles across five continents in less than 19 days will place huge demands on both rider and motorcycle, which makes the Tiger 1200 Rally Explorer the natural choice for this attempt, and Sam has what it takes to succeed."
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To break the record, Sunderland will need to cover more than 18,000 miles across five continents, riding close to 1,000 miles per day. If he can do that, he's in with a shot of beating the existing record of 19 days, 8 hours and 25 minutes, which was set 23 years ago, which was set by Kevin and Julia Sanders aboard a BMW R1150GS. Now, some of you might be thinking Ryan Kluftinger from FortNine beat this record when he circumnavigated the world in 16 days and 23 hours, but you'd be wrong.
When Kluftinger circumnavigated the world, he never stopped the clock from the moment he left Vancouver until the moment he came back, but he also had fresh Ducati Multistrada V4 Rallys waiting for him several times after he got off planes or boats. He also didn't travel continuously in the same direction, which is a rule Sunderland will follow. Basically, FortNine showed how fast you could get around the world by motorcycle, just not on the same motorcycle throughout.
Sunderland needs to complete his attempt using the same motorcycle and traveling in the same direction throughout the trip; however, while he's in transit by plane or boat, the timer stops, and I wonder if this gives him a chance to beat FortNine's time, or will the fact he needs to get his Tiger 1200 Rally Explorer through customs each time prove too much of a delay?
Keep up to date with Sunderland's progress, check out his Instagram account. Let us know whether you think Sunderland is destened to beat the world record or maybe even FortNine's in the comments.
