Hunter motorsport identity Graeme Boyd has described the debut Dakar Rally performance of Aberglasslyn endurance rider Toby Price as very significant.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Price heads into the final stages of the South American-based event this weekend in sight of a podium finish, sitting fourth overall with three legs remaining before Sunday’s finale.
It is the 27-year-old’s first attempt at the world’s biggest off-road race and he has the chance to eclipse the best previous finish by an Australian, being sixth by Andy Caldecott in 2005.
And it comes less than two years after Price suffered a potential career ending spinal injury, making his rookie achievements at Dakar even more special according to Boyd.
“Toby [Price] is doing extremely well, especially considering the injuries he has had,” Boyd said.
“In terms of Australian motorsport this is very significant ... it’s not just our local championships and rallies anymore.
“Dakar is just so tough, it destroys things. That is part of the skill – being able to go fast but still handle your equipment and then you have to make sure you don’t get lost because it’s easy to lose time, but hard to make it.”
Price entered Dakar in good touch having cleaned up in his return season of 2014 claiming a Finke and Hattah desert double, a fourth Australian Off-Road Endurance title and a class victory wearing the green and gold at the International Six-Day Event.
His latest efforts, overnight on Wednesday, saw him finish fourth on the marathon 371 kilometre 10th stage from Calama in Chile to Cachi in Argentina.
“We had a good stage today,” Price wrote on his website.
“Each stage has its own challenges and today’s was the very high altitudes, which really zaps a lot of your energy.
“Luckily for us the stage was pretty simple and quite fun to be honest.
“There was a mixture of terrain during stage 10, you had to be on the ball and conserve as much energy as possible.”
The result saw Price remain fourth overall, but he managed to claw back over four minutes on third-placed Pablo Quintanilla and now trails the Chilean by only 24 seconds.
Price has three more chances to make up the difference and finish on the podium as the rally draws to a conclusion in Buenos Aeries.
“I’m really excited to be moving forward on a solid stage and see what tomorrow brings,” he said.
Fellow KTM rider Marc Coma, of Spain, leads the overall standings with a time of 38 hours, 13 minutes and 50 seconds.
Coma is seven minutes and 35 seconds clear of second-placed Paulo Goncalves and more than half an hour ahead of Quintanilla and Price.
In other motorsport news, Seaham’s Broc Parkes will contest the 2015 Troy Bayliss Classic at Taree on Saturday.
DAKAR RALLY 2015 - STAGE 10 RESULTS
1. JOAN BARREDA BORT(ESP) - HONDA CRF450RALLY 4h07m11s
2. MARC COMA(ESP) - KTM 450 RALLY REPLICA +00:01:39
3. RUBEN FARIA(PRT) - KTM 450 RALLY REPLICA +00:01:57
4. TOBY PRICE(AUS) - KTM 450 RALLY REPLICA +00:02:14
5. PAULO GONCALVES(PRT) - HONDA CRF450RALLY +00:03:46
6. STEFAN SVITKO(SVK) - KTM 450 RALLY REPLICA +00:06:22
7. HELDER RODRIGUES(PRT) - HONDA CRF450RALLY +00:06:26
8. PABLO QUINTANILLA(CHL) - KTM 450 RALLY REPLICA +00:06:29
9. IVAN JAKES(SVK) - KTM 450 RALLY REPLICA +00:08:59
10. HANS VOGELS(NLD) - KTM 450 RR +00:10:19
DAKAR RALLY 2015 - OVERALL STANDINGS
1. MARC COMA(ESP) - KTM 450 RALLY REPLICA 38h13m50s
2. PAULO GONCALVES(PRT) - HONDA CRF450RALLY +00:07:35
3. PABLO QUINTANILLA(CHL) - KTM 450 RALLY REPLICA +00:31:42
4. TOBY PRICE(AUS) - KTM 450 RALLY REPLICA +00:32:06
5. STEFAN SVITKO(SVK) - KTM 450 RALLY REPLICA +00:45:19
6. DAVID CASTEU(FRA) - KTM 450 RALLY +01:41:14
7. RUBEN FARIA(PRT) - KTM 450 RALLY REPLICA +01:41:40
8. LAIA SANZ PLA-GIRIBERT(ESP) - HONDA CRF 450 RALLY +02:05:00
9. IVAN JAKES(SVK) - KTM 450 RALLY REPLICA +02:25:51
10. OLIVIER PAIN(FRA) - YAMAHA WR450F +02:50:11
