Imagine this for more than 12 hours straight each day on the back of a motorcycle.

It might seem daunting for some, but for Michael Burgess it's a dream come true.

Burgess, 40, has a confirmed entry to compete in one of the world's most iconic endurance rallies, the Dakar.

When he woke up this morning his phone had been bombarded with messages.

He knew something was up, so he checked his email and there it was, an email confirming his entry.

"There would be a lot of people who would be hesitant to compete in the current situation," Burgess said.

"But we're ready to go and we're ready for it."

Burgess always uses the word team, as it takes a lot more than the efforts of just one person to make it happen, especially the endless support from his wife Kelly.

The 2021 Dakar will head to Saudi Arabia for the second time in its history, with the exact route of the race's 11 stages yet to be confirmed.

Burgess will be racing in the motorcycle class with Swiss-based team Nomad Racing.

Given its geographic location the event will feature some of the toughest desert conditions on the planet, but that doesn't worry Burgess.

In recent years he has been refining his ability in the desert at rallies throughout Western Australia where he achieved top results in addition to taking on Sahara Desert dunes in Morocco.

"Rallies through the desert aren't all about skill, they require a lot of endurance too," Burgess said.

"I've also just found that I seem to excel in the desert, but it is a love-hate relationship.

"The idea of 42 degree heat and sand dunes sounds good when you are travelling to the destination, but after you finish a long day of riding you can feel quite dehydrated, especially if you have already drunk your CamelBak halfway through the stage," he laughed.

It hasn't all been clean sailing for Burgess as he's overcome recent injuries in addition to years of niggles as a footballer, but now he is 100 per cent committed to riding in his first Dakar.

"After some injuries I had to spend a few weeks on the couch recovering, but once I was better I pulled my head out of the gutter and got straight back to work," he said.

"Right at the minute I feel like I am in the best condition of my life."

The Dakar 2021 starts in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on January 3 with the racers to take on 11 stages before returning to the coastal city on January 15.

That leaves Burgess with around three months left to prepare, with the current plan to head to Saudi in early December.

"I'm feeling quite excited, but there's still so much to do in regards to logistics," he said.

"I am confident we will be able to get over there, but getting home might be tricky.

"But in a nutshell, as long as we can get over there and get the job done, I will be happy."

The only possible hurdle he and the hundreds of rally racers could encounter is if the event were to be cancelled or postponed due to coronavirus.

But as it stands, it has the green light to go ahead.

"Obviously with what's going there could be some handbrakes if it were to be cancelled or postponed," Burgess said.

"The organisers, as it stands currently, believe they will be able to run it without any issues."

Whether it goes ahead or not, isn't of major concern for Burgess as his entry will be carried over to the 2022 event.

Only one Australian has ever won Dakar, Toby Price within the motorcycle class in both 2016 and 2019.

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