Shanghai SIPG coach André Villas-Boas left his position to drive in the Dakar Rally 2018.
The 40-year-old helped the Chinese Super League side to finish second in the previous football season after replacing Sven-Goran Eriksson at the helm.
"I spoke with my friend Alex Doringer, the manager of the KTM team, who told me that I would still need a full year's preparation to get there and that it was better to consider doing it with a car," he was quoted as saying by Fox Sports.
"So I got in touch with Team Overdrive and here I am," Villas-Boas added.
He spoke in 2011, when he was manager of Chelsea, about his passion for motorbikes and that he would often escape the rigours of Premier League football by going off-road riding in the Portuguese mountains.
"The passion for two wheels is something that grew in me," Villas-Boas said at the time.
"My first bike was a Yamaha XT 350cc, a heavy engine at the start. Then I've had Hondas and KTMs, as well as the trials bikes I've got.
"I have a bit of a crazy head, so I like enduro-bikes - I go into the mountains with the big rocks and almost kill myself!"
Villas-Boas will drive a Toyota Hilux in the car category of the event, which begins in Peru on January 6.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)