VOL. 53 ISSUE 15 APRIL 19, 2016 P79
Despres and Marc Coma and
KTM felt that adding another
rider to the Factory Team had no
marketing merit whatsoever.
At that same time a 22-year-
old motocrosser by the name
of Toby Price had just won the
Australian Off-Road Champion-
ship (AORC) at his first attempt.
Born to a family that loved mo-
torsport, Price had been winning
motocross championships since
kindergarten, turning profes-
sional at the age of 17.
Since his Rookie of the Year
accolades in 2009, Price had
taken up where Ben Grabham
had left off, winning both the
legendary Finke and Hattah
races at his first attempt, along
with an endless list of national
racing titles. These despite Price
often carrying injuries-injuries that
many thought were the result of
his crash-or-crash-through riding
style.
Then, racing in California,
Price suffered the big one,
breaking three bones in his
neck. Rehabilitation was both
extensive and intensive, yet
before the year was out he was
back in the saddle, but the tragic
death of his teammate and great
friend Kurt Caselli in the Baja
1000 must have given him pause
for reflection. Winless in 2013
due to his injuries, Price proved
indomitable in 2014, winning Fin-
ke, Hattah and his fourth AORC.
There was literally nothing left
to win in Australia and, invited to
give FIM World Cross-Country
Rallying a shot, Price took on
Morocco's OiLibya Rally.
Having never previously rid-
den a 400-pound-plus rally bike
and having never had to navigate
the OiLibya Rally proved a steep
learning curve for Price, despite
teammate and multi-time FIM
World Champion Marc Coma
passing on much of his consid-
erable experience to the young
Aussie. Whether it was Coma's
tutoring, Price's natural ability,
or a combination of both, Price
finished a remarkable eighth
outright. Then, after flying direct
from Morocco to Argentina,
Price won his class at the Inter-
national Six Day Enduro. On the
way back home he stopped over
in California where he picked up
a sizable check for winning the
Red Bull Day in the Dirt.
Yet for all his obvious talent
Price was by no means assured
of a shot at Dakar and, like Grab-
ham, may have been passed
over if not for the limited talent
pool of riders capable of a Dakar
victory; a pool that was further
depleted by the death of Caselli,
the retirement of five-time winner
Cyril Despres and the impending
retirement of Marc Coma. It was
time for the dominant Red Bull
KTM Team to cast the net. Toby
Price was the right bloke in the
right place at the right time.
KTM's lineup at the 2015
Dakar was formidable. Four-
time winner Marc Coma, Ru-
ben Faria, Jordi Viladoms and
Pablo Quintanilla (all of whom
had stood on the podium) plus
Sam Sunderland, who'd proven
quicker than them all. Then
there were the rookies, Matthias
Walkner and Toby Price, out
there for work experience and
seeded back in 26th and 27th
start positions with absolutely
no expectations on their young
At the finish of the Dakar,
the exhaustion is easy to see.
