Lucas, 54, said a sense of adventure encouraged him to enter the week-long endurance bike race.

He will compete in the quad bike section, alongside Mepugna’s Paul Smith who is preparing for the Dakar Rally in January 2013.

The Australasian Safari is in its 27th year and starts in Western Australia tomorrow, finishing on September 29.

The safari originally started in Sydney and finished in Darwin.

In 2007 the event moved to Western Australia and has since covered a variety of areas.

This year it will head to new territory on the mid-north west coast and through the Murchison and Gascoyne areas of Western Australia. 

Lucas has competed in the Finke Desert Race and Condo 750.

“I could never afford to go to Dakar (Rally), so it’s this one,” he said.

“I am having a crack at it. I am getting a bit old in the tooth for these things. It is an adventure, dangerous, exciting. It’s a bit of everything.”

Lucas said his main aim was to finish the gruelling race without having to stop for running repairs to his Honda 700: “I have been training for ages. I am over this gym stuff.” 

He is looking forward to testing himself on Western Australia’s beach dunes and said the safari would take a toll on mind and body.

“The logistics are mind-blowing. 

“I am very picky (about where I race) because I like the ones where you have to use your brains and everything has to run smoothly.

“This one you have to navigate and work out logistics. It’s not just a straight race.”