Toby Price

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.^[6]

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.^[4]

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.^[7]

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,^[8] Hattah and the A4DE.^[9] A mid-season injury put him out of the AORC title chase, leaving him in ninth place overall.^[10]

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.^[11]

2012

Price took first place Pro Class Melbourne Enduro-X^[12] and won the Finke Desert Race^[13] and Hattah Desert Race^[14] 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.^[15]

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.^[16]

Two weeks after returning from the ISDE, Price won the E3 class in the A4DE, coming second overall, still riding with broken ribs.^[17]

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.^[18] 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.^[19]

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.^[20]

In June, he won the Finke Desert race for the third time,^[21] followed by the Hattah Desert Race again in July.^[22]

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.^[23]

Trying International Cross-country Rallying for the first time, Price showed his versatility by gaining 8th place in the Morocco Rally.^[24]

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.^[25]

Returning to California for the Red Bull Day In The Dirt, Price took out first place for 2014.^[26]

2015

In his debut attempt at the Dakar Rally, Price achieved a win in Stage 12, and finished in third place overall.^[27]

Price was a guest driver at the Clipsal 500 Stadium Super Trucks race at Adelaide Street Circuit.^[28] He competed in two of the three races, finishing sixth^[29] and eighth.^[30]

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.^[31]

Price won his fifth Hattah Desert Race title in July,^[32] 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^[33]

He then took out a record fifth AORC win, wrapping up the title with two rounds still remaining.^[34]

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.^[35]

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.^[36]

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,^[37] then won the Bikes for a record-equalling fifth time.^[38]

In October, Price returned to Europe, winning the OiLibya Rally in Morocco, and taking 3rd place overall in the 2016 World Championship.^[39]

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.^[40]

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.^[41]

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.^[42]

2018

Price’s first motorcycle 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.^[43]

In March, he returned to the Adelaide 500, driving in both the Stadium Super Trucks and the new ECB SuperUtes Series. He came second overall in the inaugural round of the SuperUtes.^[44] Price had troubles in the first two rounds of the Stadium Super Trucks, but finished Race 3 in 3rd place.^[45]

He then raced in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, winning the first stage. Price finished seventh overall,^[46] after a big crash in Stage 2, and stopping to assist fellow rider Mohammed Balooshi who was unconscious after a crash in Stage 3.^[47]

Toby returned to Australia for the 2018 Finke Desert Race, again attempting the Iron Man Double (Car and Bike titles). After Day 1 he was coming second in the Cars, but had a power steering pump failure and did not complete the return leg. He led the Bikes all the way on both days, despite a hard fall around the 100km mark on Day 2. He finished over 10 minutes ahead of his nearest rival, taking out a record 6th Bikes title.^[48]

In August, Price came second in the 2018 Atacama Rally in Chile^[49], then second by 6 seconds in the Desafío Ruta 40 in Tucumán, Argentina^[50].

He won the final round of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship, the Rallye OiLibya du Maroc, in October, becoming 2018 FIM World Rally Champion^[51]. Price was the first Australian to ever achieve this title^[52].