Motorcyclist Jon Stamper is taking part in the gruelling Dakar Rally.

The 42-year-old security consultant from Egerton, near Ashford, is one of two riders in the privately-funded Front Row GB team who will be taking on the challenge of competing in the rally, which is being held in South America for the first time because of terrorist threats in Africa.

The rally, for cars and bikes, has attracted an entry of 540 competitors from 50 countries, with the Front Row GB team of Stamper and Stan Watt, from Dorset, the only British entry.

The rally starts in Buenos Aires on Saturday and the course will follow a 9,000-mile trek through Argentina and Chile, returning to Buenos Aires on January 18.

Stamper, who will be riding a 130mph KTM 690 rally bike, said: “It is the toughest off-road race in the world with lots of danger – getting lost, running out of fuel or water, riding at night, big crashes when you are tired and not concentrating, cars or lorries running you over in the dunes, banditry, mechanical failure, heat exhaustion and illness. They are all in the mix.

“We will be riding through the Patagonian Desert and up into the Andes and the average temperature will be 35c, but on the plus side the organisers say that the scenery will be stunning.”