Team Australia switches to AWD for Baja 1000

After racing with a two-wheel drive Trophy Truck, Team Australia will shift to all-wheel drive for the 2022 Baja 1000 on 15–20 November. Toby Price recently revealed he and Paul Weel have acquired a Mason Motorsports AWD TT to use at the 1000. The truck will be prepared by TSCO Racing, who helped Price win the Finke Desert Race in 2021 and 2022.

The duo raced a Geiser Brothers 2WD at the Vegas to Reno in August but retired with a broken axle, and rebounded at the Baja 400 in early September by finishing fifth overall.

While Team Australia had a solid performance at the 400, AWD trucks have proven to be more capable than 2WD across multiple disciplines, whether it be the Pro 4 trucks in short course or the fact that Bryce Menzies and Luke McMillin won two legs of the 2022 SCORE International World Desert Championship in AWD. The lone exception was Rob MacCachren winning the Baja 500 in a 2WD, and even he had won the 2021 Baja 1000 in an AWD alongside McMillin.

“It’s the way of the future and to be able to run with the guys at the front in the same equipment should hopefully show soon enough in our results,” said Price. “[With] AWD, you can run a pace of eighty percent but still be doing the pace of a two-wheel drive, which is always a positive for the longevity of the race truck.”

Weel is new to the Baja 1000, while Price has raced sporadically in SCORE events since 2012 including a runner-up finish in 2019 with Nasser Al-Attiyah. Price failed to finish the 2021 1000 in a Trophy Truck Spec.

While his Trophy Truck goes from two- to all-wheel drive, Price will focus on two-wheel riding as he prepares to contest the Rallye du Maroc on 1–6 October on a bike.

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