Toby Price is an Australian off-road and enduro motorcycle racer. He lives in Singleton, New South Wales, and rode for the KTM Off-Road Racing Team until October 2015. He now represents the Red Bull Factory KTM Rally Team.
Video Toby Price
Amateur career
Raised in a family that loves motorsports, he started riding motorbikes aged 2 years and started winning races at four. His father, John Price, is a former off-road buggy Australian champion. As a junior, living in Roto and then Hillston, Price frequently won New South Wales and Australian junior titles from around 1994 to 2003.
In 2003, Price won both of the two top divisions in the Australian Junior Motocross Championships, the 15 Years 125cc class and the 13-16 years 250cc 4-stroke, 12 weeks after breaking both wrists in a training accident.
Maps Toby Price
Australian career
2004-2008
Price began his professional career in Australia in 2004, aged 16. After winning two Australian junior titles in 2003 he was signed by Kawasaki Australia and then moved from Hillston to Singleton. Injuries kept him from competing for much of this time.
2009
Riding for Kawasaki, he won the Australian Off-Road Championship in his first year of competition. He was awarded the Australian Dirt Bike magazine Rookie of the Year title.
Chosen to ride for Australia in the 2009 Enduro in Portugal, Price was the fastest under-23 years rider and was 14th in the world.
2010
Riding for KTM, Price won most of the major Australian Off-Road titles of 2010: AORC, Finke (on first attempt), Hattah (on first attempt), A4DE.
2011
Except for a fuel mishap in round one of the 2011 AORC, and a mechanical failure in the Finke Desert Race, Price again won most of the major off-road races in Australia. He won rounds 2, 3 and 4 of the AORC, Hattah and the A4DE. A mid-season injury put him out of the AORC title chase, leaving him in ninth place overall.
Selected for the Australian team to compete in the 2011 International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) competition in Finland from 8 to 13 August, Price finished fourth in the E2 class of the ISDE and eighth overall, making him the highest finishing Australian.
2012
Price took first place Pro Class Melbourne Enduro-X and won the Finke Desert Race and Hattah Desert Race He also won AORC, the first time it had been won from the E3 class, winning eight of the ten rounds, and finishing second in the other two.
He was selected for the Australian team to compete in the 2012 International Six Days Enduro competition in Germany from 24 to 29 September, leading the Australian team to second place in the world. After the first couple of days, Price was leading the E3 class and was fifth overall, despite a bent front wheel from the first day. Near the halfway mark of the event, he suffered broken ribs in an incident. He continued despite the injuries, finishing second in the E3 class and tenth overall.
Two weeks after returning from the ISDE, Price won the E3 class in the A4DE, coming second overall, still riding with broken ribs.
2013
Riding for KTM, Price won rounds 2, 3 and 4 of the AORC, leading the E3 class and Outright.
While in California riding for KTM America in the AMA Hare and Hound National Championship in April, Price was involved in a crash, breaking three bones in his neck, and his thumb. After a major operation to repair his neck, Price was unable to ride until September. Following intensive rehabilitation, he returned to America and joined the KTM America team (though not riding) for the November Baja 1000 in which his teammate Kurt Caselli was killed.
Price's first major race after the broken neck was the December Red Bull Day In The Dirt in California, where he came second.
2014
Price won round 1 of the AORC, but suffered a crash that put him out of round 2. Less than a month later, still suffering the effects of the crash, he came second in rounds 3 and 4. He placed first in rounds 5, 6, 9, 10 and 11, becoming the only rider to win the AORC four times.
In June, he won the Finke Desert race for the third time, followed by the Hattah Desert Race again in July.
He won all three rounds of the Western Australian Desert Tri-Series, the Kumarina 500 in June, Doorawarrah 500 in July and Indee 500 in August.
Trying International Cross-country Rallying for the first time, Price showed his versatility by gaining 8th place in the Morocco Rally.
In November, he won the E3 class at the International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) in Argentina, coming second overall by 45 seconds, after 6 days' racing. Returning to California for the Red Bull Day In The Dirt, Price took out first place for 2014.
2015
In his debut attempt at the Dakar Rally, Price achieved a win in Stage 12, and finished in third place overall.
Price was a guest driver at the Clipsal 500 Stadium Super Trucks race at Adelaide Street Circuit. He competed in two of the three races, finishing sixth and eighth.
Several days before the 2015 Finke Desert Race, a large stick penetrated Price's boot while practising, breaking his right ankle and foot. He continued, and qualified first in the prologue, then won both days of the race, taking out his fourth Finke title.
Price won his fifth Hattah Desert Race title in July, coinciding with signing to replace the retiring Marc Coma on the Factory KTM Red Bull Rally team in the World Rally Championship and Dakar Rally
He then took out a record fifth AORC win, wrapping up the title with two rounds still remaining.
2016
In January, Price dominated the Dakar Rally, winning Stages 2,5,6,8 and 9, winning overall by about 40 minutes, and becoming the first Australian to ever win any class of the Dakar Rally, as well as the only person to ever win on the second attempt and the first non-European to win the Bikes category.
He followed this up in April by becoming the first Australian ever to win the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, putting him in the lead of the 2016 World Championship.
Price returned to Australia for the 2016 Finke Desert Race, competing in both Cars and Bikes, flying back along the track by aircraft after completing the Car leg each day, then riding the Bike leg. He came second in the Cars, then won the Bikes for a record-equalling fifth time.
In October, Price returned to Europe, winning the OiLibya Rally in Morocco, and taking 3rd place overall in the 2016 World Championship.
2017
Price started his 2017 season with the Dakar once again, however he crashed out of the race while leading in Stage 4, having won Stage 2. He was later diagnosed with a broken left femur.
Eight weeks after breaking his femur, Price was back in the driver's seat at the Adelaide Clipsal 500 in the Stadium Super Trucks. He came fourth in Race 1 and second in Race 2.
Price was unable to race in the bikes section of the 2017 Finke Desert Race on doctor's orders, but was able to compete in the buggies. Starting from 7th on the grid in dusty conditions, Price was in 3rd place 80km from the finish when his car broke down with an engine sensor failure.
2018
Price's first race since breaking his femur was the 2018 Dakar Rally in January. He rode consistently for the first 9 stages, but was in a group of riders who took a wrong turn in Stage 10, losing about 50 minutes. He then won Stages 11 and 13, coming third overall by 23 minutes.
Sponsorships
- KTM (2009-present)
- Red Bull
- Lancaster Motor Group
- Mitsubishi Motors
- GoPro, Spy, Ogio, Bell Sports
- Blundstone Footwear, BFGoodrich
- Michelin, Santa Cruz Bicycles, Oakley, Inc.
- Ethika, CTI Braces, Shotz
- Stealth Electric Bikes
- Fulcrum Suspensions
- Kawasaki motorcycles (2003-2009)
Major titles
- 2009 Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC)
- 2010 Finke Desert Race
- 2010 Hattah Desert Race
- 2010 Australian 4 Day Enduro (A4DE)
- 2010 Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC)
- 2011 Hattah Desert Race
- 2011 Australian 4 Day Enduro (A4DE)
- 2012 Finke Desert Race
- 2012 Hattah Desert Race
- 2012 Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC)
- 2014 Finke Desert Race
- 2014 Hattah Desert Race
- 2014 Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC)
- 2014 International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) E3
- 2014 A Day in the Dirt Motocross Grand Prix
- 2015 Finke Desert Race
- 2015 Hattah Desert Race
- 2015 Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC)
- 2016 Dakar Rally
- 2016 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge
- 2016 Finke Desert Race
- 2016 Rallye OiLibya du Maroc
Dakar Rally results
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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