Toby Price will hit double-digit Dakar Rallies on the familiar saddle of a KTM 450 Rally Factory. On Wednesday, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing announced they have signed Price for the 2024 race and World Rally-Raid Championship.
“I’ve been racing for KTM for fifteen years now and for the factory since 2015, so it feels great to be able to race the biggest, toughest rally for them once again,” said Price. “It’s been a long journey with the KTM brand and one that I think it’s fair to say has brought both sides heaps of success along the way. With this contract extension signed now, I’m really looking forward to focusing on the Dakar early next year and hopefully keeping KTM up front.”
Price impressed in his Dakar Rally début in 2015 when he won a stage and finished third overall, and built upon it by winning the 2016 edition outright for bikes. He added a second victory in 2019.
The 2023 edition saw a battle between Price, Skyler Howes, and Luciano Benavides for the overall. While Price’s only stage win came in the Prologue, he stalked Howes for much of the rally before taking the lead in Stage #12. Benavides mounted a dramatic comeback in the final two legs to take the win, though Price still settled for second.
He claimed the W2RC lead with a third at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, followed by another third among championship-eligible riders at the Sonora Rally. Mechanical issues at the Desafío Ruta 40 cost Price the top spot, and he enters the season-ending Rallye du Maroc trailing Luciano Benavides by nine points.
“I’ve known Toby for many years now and it’s safe to say his passion and commitment to the KTM brand is outstanding,” commented team rally manager Andreas Hölzl, who took over the post from Norbert Stadlbauer in late September. “The Dakar is unpredictable and incredibly tough, but as we’ve seen time and time again, Toby’s strength and willpower enables him to fight through and always deliver his best. This is going to be my first Dakar as Rally Team Manager and I’m so pleased that Toby will be part of the team. We’ll give it everything, that’s for certain. We’re looking forward to January.”
Outside of the W2RC, Price has also enjoyed success on four wheels with his third consecutive Finke Desert Race win in June. He and Paul Weel also compete in SCORE International, where their Trophy Truck has been fast but plagued by bad luck.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing also fields a 450 Rally Factory for Matthias Walkner.
The 2024 W2RC begins with the Dakar Rally on 5 January.