PRICE RECEIVES ORDER OF AUSTRALIA HONOUR
Toby Price receives Order of Australia honour – Image: Red Bull
Two-time Dakar Rally winner Toby Price has received a Medal of the Order of Australia honour as part of the national holiday festivities.
By HEATH McALPINE
Price received his OAM in the General Division for Services to Motorsport, highlighting his success not only on the international stage, but for his local success on the Finke Desert Rally as well.
Price started riding professionally in 2004 at the age of 16 after winning two national junior titles, signing with Kawasaki Australia.
Price’s local successes include five Australian Off-Road Championships, five Hattah Desert Rallies, six Finke Desert Rallies and two Australian 4-Day Enduros with most of these riding KTM motorbikes.
After finishing third on debut in 2015, Price dominated the 2016 Dakar Rally taking five stage wins by more than 40-minutes to become the first Australian to win any class of the prestigious event.
Further international successes included winning the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge on his way to third in the World Cross-Country Rallies Championships. In 2018, he won the title.
The Dakar has provided mixed results for Price, in 2017 he broke his femur, before returning to place third the next year.
A broken wrist failed to stop Price from taking a heroic Dakar victory in 2019, before scoring third again in 2020.
Price has also dabbled in motorsport of the asphalt variety, contesting the Stadium Super Trucks and was an inaugural driver in the Superutes category racing a Mitsubishi-supported Sieders Racing Triton.
The Queenslander is currently awaiting surgery on his shoulder after heavily crashing out of this year’s Dakar on Stage 9. Price not only severely injured his shoulder, but was knocked out in the incident where fellow riders Sam Sunderland and Ricky Brabec stopped to help.
He revealed yesterday, his shoulder needed to be plated down, new ligaments and his AC joint required a clean-up. Price’s surgery will occur on February 3 after serving his 14-day quarantine.
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