Toby Price and Sam Sunderland have both won the Dakar Rally twice on two wheels. In 2025, they will make the switch to four wheels when they share a Toyota Hilux Overdrive from Overdrive Racing with Price as driver and Sunderland as navigator.
Price, the 2016 and 2019 bike winner, has been more than open about racing the Dakar in a car. He is a thrice victor of the Finke Desert Race in a truck and currently drives a Trophy Truck in SCORE International, where he and Paul Weel have been among the fastest four-wheelers. He has also competed in the Stadium Super Trucks and recently made his traditional rally début at the Working Dog Rally.
Last October, he ended his factory partnership with Mitsubishi to prepare for a potential Dakar pursuit in a car. Price continued in the World Rally-Raid Championship with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, finishing second in the 2023 standings. He finished fifth at the 2024 Dakar Rally among bikes before leaving KTM in March to commit to SCORE and prepare for a jump to car racing.
It is not uncommon for bike racers to switch to cars to prolong their careers. In an October 2023 interview with Motorsport.com to discuss his Mitsubishi departure, Price explained racing four wheels would allow him to continue racing the Dakar until he turned sixty.
“It’s been a huge amount of work since March putting this all together, and it feels surreal to be finally happening,” said Price. “I’ll be teaming up with my mate Sam Sunderland: four-time Dakar winners in one car is a cool story, and we’re looking to give it a good crack.”
Sunderland announced his retirement from professional motorcycle racing in July, ending a decade-long career in rally raid in which he won the 2017 and 2022 Dakar Rallies. He previously rode for Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing, which is a subsidiary of Pierer Mobility AG like KTM, and won the inaugural World Rally-Raid Championship in 2022.
After that title, however, his career was plagued by injuries that prompted him to hang up his helmet though he continues to ride recreationally. His most recent Dakar ended with a mechanical issue after three stages.
“I remember the days at Dakar when we would sit in the camper after a long, rough day on the bike, chatting about how nice it would be to sit in a car with a seat belt and a bit of air conditioning,” Sunderland recalled. “This always seemed a bit far-fetched, so it’s surreal to be able to say we’ll be on the line.”
Overdrive Racing fields Toyota Hiluxes, mainly for privateers, in the Ultimate category’s T1+ subcategory. Yazeed Al-Rajhi finished runner-up in the 2023 and 2024 FIA standings in a Hilux Overdrive, while helping Toyota win the latest manufacturers’ championship.
Jean-Marc Fortin, the boss of Overdrive Racing, described Price and Sunderland’s addition as making for “one of the most exciting driver pairings we at Overdrive Racing have announced since the team’s inception in 2006.
“To have four-time Dakar Rally champions Toby Price and Sam Sunderland in the same car is nothing short of sensational, and is a project that we are incredibly thrilled about. We’re confident in Price’s skill behind the wheel, and Sam’s experience with navigation in the bikes category makes this pairing very formidable.”
The 2025 Dakar Rally is scheduled for 3–17 January.