Price wins Finke Desert Race
Only the third rider to win the event on a first attempt as he continues his brilliant recent form on the KTMWhat most riders would give to be in the same orbit as Toby Price at the moment.
Not only is the 22-year-old KTM rider on track to defend his Australian off-road title in 2010, but the New South Welshman has now turned his talents to desert racing with immediate success, romping to a 10-minute victory in the 36th annual Finke Desert Race in the Northern Territory.
Price has become just the third rookie to win the race on his first attempt, with brand-mate Todd Smith and Honda's Ryan Branford completing the podium.
Defending champion and desert wiz Ben Grabham (KTM) retired with mechanical problems while in a strong position on the run to Finke.
"I have no words to describe my win at Finke," said Price. "It's an awesome feeling. To just survive Finke is a challenge in itself, and for these guys who do it all the time it's hats off to them they're amazing.
"On the way down to Finke it was fairly smooth and good going. The whoop section was pretty hard and on the way back to Alice Springs the track got chopped up big, but thankfully I had a good lead and I could preserve the bike where necessary and make sure it got me home.
"Big thanks goes to Brad Williscroft and Ben Grabham, who together were an open book with their knowledge of the track and set-up. They didn't hold back on sharing with me their years of experience, and trade secrets, which definitely helped me get to this point…"
At the end of day one, with Grabham already out of the picture, Price had powered to a stunning 10-minute lead over Smith, which allowed him to adopt a conservative approach on the journey back to Alice Springs.
His total elapsed time was four hours, three minutes and 25 seconds (4:03.25), which was clearly the second fastest time in the last five years, behind Grabham's 4:01.26 in 2009.
Honda pair Jacob Smith and Jack Dooley-McDonnell were fourth and fifth this year out of 375 finishers, and joining Grabham among the 24 non-finishers included big names such as Brad Williscroft, Chad Billett and Jehi Willis.
In the quad class, Polaris Outlaw rider Luke Beechey successfully defended his title, ahead of Chad McKay (Can-Am) and team-mate Michael Roycroft.
Click on the following link for full results in the 2010 Finke Desert Race.
Pics: Michael Hurren and Stuart Bowes
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