So you’re back for more dirt? The off-road racing community is a welcoming place and perhaps not as confronting as rolling into the pit area of a motocross track.

You’ll still see flat brim hats and shiny-wheeled race vans everywhere, but one of the first remarks new comers make about off-road is the fact everybody gets along – pros and punters. It’s just the nature of the beast I guess.

On a single day of motocross, riders have the accidental opportunity to take each other out while they’re racing, which no doubt would fuel tension in the pits for weeks, months, even years?

Bar-to-bar animosity happens less frequent in off-road. In a cross-country, if riders have had a heated battle, they’ve usually forgotten about it or are too flogged to care after racing flat out for three hours non-stop.

So, if you’ve just joined in, this is the second installment of Off-Road Observer, the first of which started at the top last week with an insight into current Australian Off-Road Champion Chris Hollis. At risk of kicking the column off with an orange theme, this week we’re featuring Hollis’ fellow Motorex KTM Off-Road teammate, Toby Price.

This guy really needs no introduction as most of the motocross fraternity would remember Toby’s achievements from his junior racing days, however the off-road world is in awe of Toby for the dominant transition he’s made to enduro and desert racing.

Toby Price has been in his element since switching to off-road racing. Image: Adam Riemann.

Since 2009, he’s been the AORC champion twice, the A4DE champion twice, the Hattah Desert Race champion twice and also won the Finke Desert Race at his first attempt. Toby is one of the few riders to successfully leave motocross and make a career in off-road.

What most may not realise though, just as it’s extremely tough for an enduro rider to try and mix it with the best motocross riders in the country, so too is it tough for the best motocross riders to show up and be competitive off-road – they are two completely different environments requiring the same level of fitness, race craft, skill and dedication.

Following a stellar ride at the ISDE in Finland last year, Toby’s season turned against him after he suffered internal injuries during a crash at rounds five and six of the AORC. While forced to sit out and heal broken ribs as well as a lacerated kidney, another cruel blow came with the passing of his sister due to illness.

For 2012, Toby has put the past behind him and is back with the number 87 on his race bike, which like Hollis, is reference to the year he was born. He’s looking fit, has the spring of an underdog in his step again and I suspect he’s gonna be charging harder than ever this year.

I say this in light of catching up with him a few days before Christmas for a bit of a trail hack. It was good to just get out and ride for fun but even better because we finally had a chance to piece together a video. Something I’ve wanted to do with Toby for a while now… check it out.

The action footage was shot on his KTM 500 EXC, which along with a 450 SX-F and 450 EXC, is just one of the practice bikes Toby’s been training and testing with over the off-season.

He seems pretty happy on the 500 (judging by the ballistic pace in the video) but when I asked him if he’s going to ride in the E3 class next year, he replied “I don’t know mate, moving into E3 just feels like I’m goin’ into retirement already.”

Well, given he’s not even 25-years old, I suspect retirement is at least 10-years away for Toby. As for riding the 500 in E3 this year, I think the stopwatch might have made the decision for him already.

Anyway, make sure you check-in here every Tuesday for more updates on what the off-road boys are up to as the racing season kicks off early in February at the Melbourne Enduro X. I’ll be at most of the races too, swinging off a camera and even turning a throttle.

When I can I’ll do both, but it’s a bit of a stress to race and shoot on the same day. I’ve somehow managed to pull it off over the years at different events, but it’s proving to be easier now that I can hide away in the Over 35s class.

In cross country or motocross formats, we race at separate times, so I can bash ’bars with the old boys, then swap the bike for the camera and shoot the pros. At least that’s my excuse. There’s an unwritten rule among the fast boys that you don’t ride Over 35s until you’re 40, but screw that ¬– I feel flogged out at 37!

On top of that, the Over 35s is a serious class. You’ve got guys like Damian Smith and Brad Williscroft, who less than five years ago were battling each other over the Outright honours at the AORC and A4DE. And to make matters worse, Kirk Hutton has decided its time to join the middle-age mayhem as well. Trust me, these boys are as hungry to win as ever.

Could we see Price campaign the brand new 500 EXC in 2012? Image: Adam Riemann.

Looking for more off-road action from Adam Riemann? Check out his website at www.motology.cc.