Few Aussie athletes have demonstrated the same hard-core toughness, spirit of adventure, love of competition and ability to bounce back, than “the boy from the back of beyond”. Yes, we check out the crazy career of off-road, enduro motorcycle racing world champ and two-time Dakar Rally winner, TOBY PRICE…
The motorcycle division of the 9,000km Dakar Rally is the most gruelling motorsport event in the world. To win it takes something special. To do it in just your second attempt is unprecedented. Meet Toby Price. Standing on the top step in 2016 as the first-ever non-European to win the motorcycle section, Australia’s newest superstar said, ‘This is just insane!’ A year earlier the tough-as-teak bloke from beyond the black stump surprised himself when he claimed third on debut behind winner Red Bull KTM teammate Marc Coma, and Paulo Gonçalves. In doing so Toby became only the second Australian to stand on the Dakar podium after Andy Haydon claimed bronze in 1998.
The world-famous event was first staged in 1978 as the Paris-Dakar, departing the chic French capital for the foreboding deserts of Senegal until security threats in Mauritania led to its cancellation in 2008. It moved to South America in 2009 under the Dakar banner and has been described as the Mount Everest of motorcycling. The similarities are striking. You really need to know what you’re doing when conditions change in a heartbeat, using your higher powers of judgement when fatigued and freezing as you depart pre-dawn with 850km in front of you, or suffering dehydration riding into a 45-degree sunset. Ascending terrain 3,500 metres above sea level, some Dakar riders retire due to altitude sickness. Only half of the bike field makes it to the end.
It’s not just the crazy environment you have to deal with. It’s also the cars and trucks navigating the same course – as South African Joey Evans knows only too well. He made his Dakar debut in 2017, meeting his hero Toby Price at the start area. As fellow KTM riders, Joey said meeting the defending champ was ‘very cool’. It was a huge moment. Joey became an incomplete paraplegic following a motocross crash in 2007, and for a decade had set his sights on walking again and contesting Dakar. Joey did a magnificent job going deep into the event. But on the second-last day at the tail of the bike field his KTM got stuck in a rut. Dakar employs the Sentinel audible warning system for two-wheel competitors prior to being overtaken by a car, but Joey couldn’t get his bike out of the rut in time and had to jump for his life with a leading car bearing down on him. He was okay, but the bike had a flattened exhaust system, a damaged right fuel tank and a mangled navigation tower.
Joey was determined to make the finish and rode 15 wobbly kays before coming across a fallen rider, a Colombian who had broken both of his arms. Luckily his bike was intact. ‘He gave me the okay to use his bike as a donor bike,’ Joey said. ‘I managed to fit his exhaust system to my bike with a bit of bending and bush plumbing, which was good enough to get me the last 800 kays to the finish.’ By the way, Toby says the Sentinel warning buzzer is plenty loud, ‘like kids at a Wiggles concert’.
Toby witnessed plenty of heartwarming stories such as Joey’s, but he also saw tragedy and did all he could to stop it. He rehabbed his own terrible injuries, which would’ve ended the careers of many. Alongside Mick Doohan, Toby Price stands as one of the toughest athletes Australia has ever produced. No one rides with a bigger smile, and no one has a bigger heart. ‘I’m an Aussie with a mullet to go with it,’ he says. Beneath Price’s give-it-a-crack shtick resides the high intelligence shared by most champions. ‘It’s not the fastest rider who wins Dakar,’ he proclaimed after his first victory, ‘it’s the smartest. I reckon it’s 80 per cent map reading, 10 per cent rider and 10 per cent bike reliability.’ He would soon fine-tune the mix.
Price’s annual preparation for Dakar includes going to the gym, swimming and altitude training. In the lead up to his first Dakar, Team KTM entered him in the Rally of Morocco to help develop his navigational skills, training with five time Dakar winner Marc Coma. Once he got his head around the daily road notes written in abbreviated French and illustrated with 50 pictographs, Toby’s red-hot pace rewrote how Dakar is run and won. Before Price took his first win in 2016, Cyril Despres and Marc Coma had won five Dakars each between 2005 and 2015 based on supreme navigation skills and risk-free riding. Toby stepped it up a bit. ‘When I first came in, I brought a lot of outright speed from my Finke experience,’ he said. ‘We’re seeing more blokes willing to twist the throttle, so there’re more blokes who can win it.’
Toby doesn’t care how long or how short an event is. As long as it’s on two wheels – or four – he’s all in. And if he’s not winning, he can sit back and be a fan. Entered in the All-Stars class at the inaugural 2013 Troy Bayliss Classic dirt track event, Price didn’t win. But he had a ball watching Australia’s best racers carve each other up in front of him. ‘There were passing moves out there you wouldn’t believe!’
The need to succeed started early aboard his brother’s minibike when Toby was four. After a couple of teary spills on the huge property in central New South Wales that his folks managed, Toby was hooked. ‘All I wanted to do was ride flat-out,’ he says. When he was seven Toby wrote to the NRL Footy Show to ask if Paul Vautin would buy him the Kawasaki KX60 that Vautin had failed to master.
The show granted his wish. ‘In 1998 I won a junior Australian long-track championship on that bike,’ remembers Toby. He won the Under-11 Australian Motocross Championship a year later.
Toby originally dreamed of becoming a grand prix road racer. Aged 13, he looked into jumping on board a Moriwaki 80 to pursue that dream but was much too big and tall. In the build-up to each Dakar, Toby normally loads up to 100kg, losing more than 10kg by the event’s end. The median weight of a MotoGP rider is 67kg. Resigned to a career on dirt, he raced junior motocross just about every weekend. He won two Australian off-road titles in 2003 and was signed by Kawasaki Australia. The following year the Price family moved from Hillston to a caravan park in Singleton in New South Wales, where Toby began his professional career aged 16.
His early years in pro motocross and Supercross were plagued by a vicious cycle of trying too hard, getting injured and returning too early. He lost his ride with Kawasaki but fared well as a Kawasaki privateer. Impressing Kawasaki for staying loyal, they offered him a spot in their enduro team. Enduro? He knew little about the sport. In his first big international outing, Toby was chosen to represent Australia’s junior team in the 2009 International Six-Day Enduro (ISDE) in Portugal. Elevated to the senior Trophy team after an injured Aussie rider withdrew, he was the fastest under-23 rider in the event and named Australasian Dirt Bike magazine’s Rookie of the Year in 2010.
At the 2011 ISDE in Germany, Toby led Australia’s Trophy team to second overall, its best-ever showing in the storied event. Powered by his no-worries attitude, Toby was a guy who made things happen says four-time world enduro champion Stefan Merriman. ‘Toby rides with a cool head. He doesn’t make mistakes, he has it together.’ Then came disaster. Competing in the 2013 American Hare & Hound National Championship alongside leading KTM America rider Kurt Caselli, Toby took a heavy spill breaking three bones in his neck and thumb. He was knocked unconscious and has no memory of the crash.
Price’s injuries were critical. He had broken his C6, C7 and T1 vertebrae and was told he would never ride again. He required immediate surgery after a supporting halo was bolted into his skull. Then Toby was told he didn’t have medical cover for the event he’d been racing in, something he hotly disputes. Facing a $500,000 hospital bill, Toby’s only option was a risky flight back to Australia to undergo the operation.
He arrived back on Anzac Day 2013 and was flown to Brisbane for the procedure. He was told everything would be fine and that he would get back to riding. The surgeon inserted eight titanium screws and two rods to stabilise Toby’s neck. He convalesced at home for a couple of weeks before mates drove him to Newcastle for a walk along the beach ‘to get the blood flowing’. Following a strict diet and rehabbing with trainer Tim Cole, Toby worked incredibly hard to get back into shape. Six months after the crash he had his first blat. He was unsure whether he would get back to competitive riding, but was excited about the prospect.
‘I’ll take on anything I can get my hands on next year – Hattah, Finke, anything. When you’ve come that close to not being able to do any of those things again, you learn to grab everything with both hands.’ That he did, going on an extraordinary run of both local and international victories. The experience of his worst-ever crash simply galvanised him for more success. Before that he had received a call from Kurt Caselli, who was instrumental in recommending Price to Red Bull KTM after viewing Toby’s Finke successes on YouTube. Caselli told Price he was competing in the 2013 Baja 1000, and invited his Aussie mate over to hang out and support him. Toby was waiting for Kurt at the finish when terrible news came through. Caselli had crashed fatally, devastating Toby. ‘Man, that kicked in hard that day,’ Price quavered.
After questioning the futility of risking life and limb for a tin cup, Toby regrouped in 2014 to become the only rider to win the Australian Off-Road Championship four times after missing one round and riding injured in two more. And he won Finke and Hattah again. After finishing third in the 2015 Dakar, Price was back home for the Stadium Super Trucks at the Clipsal 500, finishing sixth and eighth. A couple of days later he was due to race at Finke. A large stick had penetrated his boot while practising, breaking his right ankle and foot. He soldiered on in excruciating pain. He somehow qualified first in the prologue, then won both legs to claim his fourth Finke title.
Additionally, Toby won his fifth Hattah desert race and was signed to ride with the Factory KTM Red Bull Rally team in the World Rally Championship and Dakar. He broke more records that year, claiming his fifth Australian Off-Road Championship wrapping up the title with two rounds to spare. You can’t keep a good man down.
At the 2016 Dakar Toby took advantage of the crash that brought down leader Paulo Gonçalves to take the lead. But after crossing the finishing line the next day he was told that 48-degree heat had halted the monster 550km special stage at Checkpoint 2 – but he’d already ridden more than 100km further than anyone else and had cooked his tyres for the following day. After adjusting times for the cancelled part of the stage, Price led by 12 minutes going into the final day. He ultimately dominated the rally, winning five stages with an overall margin of 40 minutes, writing himself into the history books as the first Australian to win at the Dakar Rally. Toby followed his first Dakar success by becoming the first Australian to win the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge before returning for Finke, competing in the truck and bike categories. After finishing second in the truck division, he flew back to the start line before starting the bike leg, which he won for a record-equalling fifth time. At the end of the year Toby returned to Europe, winning the OiLibya Rally in Morocco. Pricey just loves devouring big desert events.
In Australia the 250-km Finke Desert Race from Alice Springs to the Finke River and back first kicked off in 1976. It was upon this event that Toby Price built his local legend. ‘Events like Finke grab hold of you, and you don’t want to let it go,’ he said in 2015. ‘I love the high-speed stuff.’ If the Dakar is a navigational challenge mixed in with 14 days of weather extremes, Finke is a 127-km point-to-point sprint through red bulldust at 170 km/h. Andy Haydon has an interesting take on both events. ‘I found Dakar wasn’t as physically hard as Finke, but it was certainly a greater mental challenge.’
In addition to his two Dakar wins, securing the E2 class in the 2014 ISDE and victory in the 2018 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship, Price’s record across Australia’s premier off-road events is mighty impressive. He won his first of five Australian Off-Road Championships in 2009, and his first of eight Finke Desert races in 2010, on debut. He also won the Hattah Desert race on debut in 2010. Considering his quick-fire successes at Dakar and other events, Price’s ability to win big unannounced underlines his willingness to let rip from the get-go and not treat debut rides as dress rehearsals. ‘I’m a fast learner,’ he says.
On the flipside, Price’s path to his second Dakar victory proved difficult. He went into 2017 full of beans but crashed in Stage 4 chasing down the leading Hondas after winning Stage 2. Seriously injured, he was rushed to a dodgy Bolivian hospital where he underwent surgery for a broken femur, followed by a series of seizures due to a blood clot in a lung. Toby went through an extremely difficult recovery process that was only resolved months later through the Red Bull Athlete Performance Center in Austria.
Riding with a broken wrist from a fall in late 2018, Price somehow managed to win the 2019 Dakar Rally with typical determination tinged with a bit of luck and creative thinking. To rest his painful wrist, he repurposed a rubber battery strap into a cruise-control device. On the final day Price and leader Pablo Quintanilla were separated by a minute. Just 10km into the final stage Quintanilla launched off a surprise three-metre drop-off and crashed heavily. Sustaining concussion and a broken ankle, it ended his shot at winning his and Husqvarna’s maiden Dakar title.
Price soon arrived on the scene. ‘When I saw it was Pablo, I couldn’t believe it. He’d hit his head pretty hard on the navigation tower. He was a bit dazed and gave me a nod. I was yelling at him, “Are you okay, mate, are you all right?” and the blokes looking after him said, “He’s all good, you keep going.”’ As he took off Price thought to himself: ‘Did the race just fall into my hands?’ After crossing the line first, a jubilant Price sat astride his KTM and celebrated with his team. ‘It’s crazy to sit here and say I’ve won Dakar with no stage victories. I’m so damned stoked. I’ll wait and see what damage I’ve done to my wrist. The pain and torture has been worth it.’
After securing his second Dakar, Price was awarded the inaugural Ronald J. Walker Award for Excellence by the Australian Motor Sport Hall of Fame. Feted and seemingly indestructible, Price had experienced several brushes with death and soon had to confront another’s. At the 2020 Dakar held in Saudi Arabia, Price finished second on the 410km special stage between Wadi ad-Dawasir and Haradh on day seven. Portuguese rival Paulo ‘Speedy’ Gonçalves took off ahead on the next stage. ‘Paulo left about five minutes before me, and the worst-case scenario happened. I came over a small crest and saw a rider down, it was Paulo. My worst fears kicked in ’cause I knew this one was serious. I called for help ASAP, Štefan Svitko had arrived and was helping where he could.
‘The medical helicopter arrived. I was holding drip bags and guiding other riders around what was a bad scene. We all worked as long as we could but there was nothing we could do. I helped carry Paulo to the helicopter as it was the right thing to do. I was first at his side and wanted to be the last to leave.’ After the day was done Price wrote, ‘We will miss your smile and laughter in the bivouac, “Speedy”. My last 250km of the special stage was tough, I’m dehydrated from tears. At the moment I’m not even worried about the result, I couldn’t care.’ Toby finished third.
Dakar 2021 saw Toby exit the event after closing on the leader in stage nine. After completing the Marathon stage on a slashed tyre secured to the rim by cable ties, he was running strongly just 12 seconds in arrears when he crashed out. Toby was airlifted out with a broken collarbone and shattered shoulder. After recovering in typical style, he was part of the team that won Finke in a Mitsubishi Triton to become the first competitor to win the event’s four- and two-wheel divisions. Price finished a disappointing 10th in the 2022 Dakar following a couple of navigational errors that caught out others. The two-time Dakar champion had claimed a top-three result in each of the five previous times he had completed the event.
The 2023 Dakar held in Saudi Arabia saw Price fight out an incredible three-way battle with Husqvarna’s Skyler Howes, who led for much of the rally, and Toby’s teammate Argentine Kevin Benavides. Price won the prologue and managed to head into the final day in the lead despite not winning a stage. Starting a favourable third on the 14th stage to the finish in Dammam, Price’s 12-second lead was cut after missing several waypoints. Benavides took full advantage to claim his first Dakar 45 seconds ahead of Price for a KTM Racing 1-2.
Toby Price is arguably Down Under’s most remarkable Immortal. No Australian motorsport champion has raced as far nor as wide, or challenged himself as often in the world’s harshest environments. When you consider his record across different disciplines at the highest levels of international competition, Toby Price stands alongside any offroad champion who has skimmed his boot in dirt. T
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Darryl Flack has worked as editor at Australian Motorcycle News, was the Australian correspondent for MotoGP.com and freelanced for Two Wheels, REVS, Cycle Torque, Britain’s Motor Cycle News and US weekly Cycle News. He’s also interviewed the great racers of the world, track tested the latest models at Phillip Island, Sydney Motor Sport Park and Amaroo Park and dabbled in road racing, enduro and trials competition.
This is an edited extract from THE IMMORTALS OF MOTORCYCLE RACING: THE WORLD CHAMPS by Darryl Flack (Gelding Street Press, $39.99rrp) available at all good bookstores
By DARRYL FLACK
For the full article grab the January 2024 issue of MAXIM Australia from newsagents and convenience locations. Subscribe here.
