On The Pegs February 2019 - Volume 4 - Issue 2 | Page 26

On The Pegs
On The Pegs
THE LOOP
News and Culture From The World Of Trials, Offroad and Extreme Racing
TOBY PRICE WINS DAKAR
Photos
ANDREW SHORT FIFTH OVERALL
Toby Price has won the 2019 Dakar Rally. Leading the overall standings by just
over one minute going into Thursday’s 10th and final stage, Price had no choice
but to give his all on the day’s short 112-kilometer timed special. With competi-
tors setting off in the reverse order to that of their position in the overall stand-
ings, Price was the very last motorcycle rider to enter the stage.
Vol. 4 Issue 2 - February 2019
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Pushing right from the start, Price knew he couldn’t spare a single second
on the well-travelled route. Just 10 kilometres into the stage however, the
Australian’s nearest rival fell, leaving Price free to complete the special at a
more conservative pace. Putting in a champion’s ride, he still pushed on to
ultimately claim the stage win and with it, his second Dakar title.
“It feels amazing to stand here knowing I have won the Dakar, I don’t think
it has really sunk in yet.” said Price. “I thought at the beginning of the event
I would be lucky to even make the rest day. My Red Bull KTM bike has been
amazing, I want to say a big thank you to my mechanic for that. The whole
crew here do an amazing job – without them I would be no one. The team
put in so much work on the lead up to the event and when we get here it’s
down to me out there on the track so it feels amazing to be able to reward
them all with this result and keep KTM’s winning streak going.
“It was so tight going into the stage this morning, both Pablo and I knew
we would have to push right from the start. Unfortunately for him, he went
too hard off a dune but he really deserves a win too – everyone that starts
this race deserves a win. The plan now is to go home and relax for a little
while, I know I need to have my wrist seen to, so I’ll get that sorted and then
it won’t be long before we start it all over again.”
In just his second year of rally racing, Andrew Short rounded out the top-
five in the overall standings. The former Supercross star was excited about
his finish.
“It’s been a long two weeks and I’m over the moon with my fifth place in
the overall standings,” said Short. “I entered this Dakar with more experience
and having spent a good amount of time working hard to be better. I am re-
ally happy it all worked out well for me this year. I knew what to expect and
this made the whole race easier for me. I’m also happy because I managed to
make some big improvements during the race and I think this also showed
in my results. Making it to the end of this Dakar today has been the most re-
warding part of the last two weeks. All the team worked really hard and this
top five result is the best reward for all their hard work.”
Provisional Final Standings – 2019 Dakar Rally
1. Toby Price (AUS), KTM, 33:57:16
2. Matthias Walkner (AUT), KTM, 34:06:29 +9:13
3. Sam Sunderland (GBR), KTM, 34:10:50 +13:34
4. Pablo Quintanilla (CHL), Husqvarna, 34:18:02 +20:46
5. Andrew Short (USA), Husqvarna, 34:41:26 +44:10