The Dakar Rally is one of the most brutal and challenging events in the motorsport world, racing it healthy is insanely difficult, let alone fresh from surgery on a broken scaphoid. Not that the injury has stopped Australian Toby Price for battling into a podium position with four stages remaining. The Red Bull KTM rider has his eyes set firmly on simply finishing the event, but at this point, a podium position is well within reach. Read Toby’s thoughts after each stage below.
STAGE ONE
Toby Price: “The first day has gone well. My wrist is giving me some pain so I know the next nine days are going to be tough. But I can’t complain, I’m happy with sixth place today. Conditions out there were ok, you just have to be careful in the dunes that you don’t send it off one of the big drops – I can’t afford to risk anything like that so I need to be a little careful. The bike is running sweet, so thanks to Joe my mechanic for that. It’s going to be a long one tomorrow but I’ll give it my best.”
STAGE TWO
Toby Price: “Day two was long, 342 kilometres on my wrist was really tough. It didn’t help that I got stuck in a dune around the 50-kilometre mark and had to pull the bike out and turn around. That hurt my wrist a little more but I managed to live with it for the rest of the stage, even though it was really bumpy after the cars had been through. All in all, I’m pretty happy with my time and looking forward to tomorrow.”
STAGE THREE
Toby Price: “I think it was more about survival than racing today. It was a really tough stage but I got through it and I’m feeling good and that’s what matters. I got lost early on and that cost me some time to the front runners. Then at about the 130-kilometre mark there was a lot of fog in the mountains. The road book didn’t have too many details and there were a few cliffs you could have dropped off. Luckily, I missed them. I’m still trying to hang on and get to the end of each stage but overall things are good.”
STAGE FOUR
Toby Price: “That was tough today. It was a long stage and a lot of it was made up of rocky tracks and rivers, they are the worst for my wrist. I did have one get-off along the way but luckily not too bad. I’m not comfortable but it is the way it is and I have to work around it. The goal for the rest of the rally is to keep on doing what I’ve been doing and get the best result possible.”
STAGE FIVE
Toby Price: “It was a really, really tough day for me today. Starting in groups of 10 on the beach means that you not only have to fight for position with other riders, you have to keep an eye on your navigation while dodging the rocks and dust thrown up by the guys in front. My pace today was good but I cased out on one drop and that put a lot of strain through my wrist again. I was able to continue, but I am really thankful for the rest day now. I am happy to have reached the halfway stage of the rally so hopefully after a day off I will be ready to go again on Sunday.”
STAGE SIX
Toby Price: “It’s been a really tough day today. My wrist is hurting more and more as the race goes on and it’s making things uncomfortable out there. I’ll keep cruising on though and I’m still in the race, it’s just a bit more like survival mode at the moment. Nevertheless, third overall with four stages left to race is encouraging. The goal is the same – make it safely to the finish – so I’ll keep on pushing on tomorrow.”
Provisional Standings after Stage Six – 2019 Dakar Rally
1. Pablo Quintanilla (CHI), Husqvarna, 20:45:13
2. Ricky Brabec (USA), Honda, 20:49:51 +4:38
3. Toby Price (AUT), KTM, 20:50:30 +5:17
4. Kevin Benavides (ARG), Honda, 20:53:14 +8:01
5. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Yamaha, 20:54:45 +9:32