There’s one name commanding the most attention in off-road racing right now, and that’s Motorex KTM Off-Road’s Toby Price.

Since first riding a motorbike at the age of four, Toby’s turned a childhood day dream into his way of life. He lives dirt bikes and the racing scene is his home away from home.

You can see it in his demeanour whenever he’s near a bike, whether it’s on the start line or just out play riding – Toby’s confident, composed and for the most of it, totally relaxed.

When those three elements align for him on race day, it’s almost a certainty he’ll be standing on the top step of the podium. He proved this again over the weekend during rounds five and six of the AORC at Coonabarabran.

Toby wrapped up day one with the win, then busted out Sunday to stamp a minute’s lead over the rest of the competition. To pull this kind of gap over the best riders in the country is a clear indication he’s operating on a higher level.

If you break it down athletically, Toby’s not the fittest rider in the AORC pit. Strategically, he’s not the most calculating rider either, but one thing’s for sure, he’s the most naturally gifted rider in Australian off-road today.

Toby Price has been unstoppable to date on the 500 EXC in AORC. Image: Adam Riemann.

“I’m just feeling more and more comfortable on the ‘five’ (KTM 500 EXC) with every ride mate,” Price told me. “The tracks at Coona didn’t really suit it on the Saturday cause there were so many tight u-turns through trees, but the big girl was driving really well through the bull-dust ruts.

“You could easily lose a lot of time if you got pulled up in the powder. The track didn’t really flow in the bush sections, it was kinda stop-start, which made it cut up bad with deep powder ruts, nasty square edge holes and exposed tree roots, so you had to find good lines to keep momentum.

“I think I made most of my ground up on the faster sections where I could really let the 500 rip. There were still heaps of holes with tree roots that could spit you off line, but I had so much trust in the suspension on my bike that I was hitting everything flat-out.

“To tell you the truth, I actually felt pretty safe at the pace I was going, to the point where I knew I had a bit left in reserve if I was getting any pressure from the other riders. I don’t wanna sound cocky, but I was coming in at the end of each test feeling really fresh – I could have lined straight back up and charged another lap if I had to.”

On the other side of the AORC pit is another rider who’s fast making a name for himself this year, Ballard’s Yamaha’s Daniel Milner. More affectionately known as ‘Doogs’, this is the first time he’s had the opportunity to ride for the premier off-road teams.

Doogs is a straight-shooter who tells it like it is, but will then go out and can back it up on track. Impressively, he’s found a level of speed and consistency that still eludes so many more experienced riders around him.

No doubt the influence of the Ballard’s Team is taking effect on his approach to testing too, because in the past, fitting different colour graphics and a maybe trying a different compound tyre was about the extent of Milner’s commitment to bike testing. He’s definitely a “just show me the throttle” kind of rider used to just ride stock MX bikes flat-out through the bush..

The other cool thing about Doogs is the fact he’s broken the mould of Outright trophy hunters. You see, whenever the top riders are shuffling between manufacturers and trying to sort their rides for the following season, they’re all trying to get a ride on a 450F (E2) because apparently you ‘can’t’ race for Outright on a 250F.

This has long been the consensus – or the excuse if you like – for riders struggling to crack the Outright podium. Despite hoping to race E2 himself this year, Milner gratefully took the YZ250F (E1) ride for his first year on the Ballard’s team and has since had been on the Outright podium five-times out of the six rounds – three of which were second Outright to Toby.

At Coona, Milner also won several tests outright during Saturday’s round five of the event and at the close of round six, is now sitting second Outright in the 2012 championship.

Daniel Milner has been right at home on a YZ250F since joining Ballards Yamaha. Image: Adam Riemann.

“I was just flappin’ off the back of her this weekend mate – she was really revving!” he commented later. “I had to be careful of the deep powder ruts, because they’d bog the 250F down, but I knew I was keeping a good flow in the tight tests on the Saturday.

“Winning a few tests Outright gave me a heap of confidence going into Sunday, plus I had so much faith in the suspension on my bike. I thought I was even catching Toby at one point but then he seemed to just step it up to another level. He beat me by 17 seconds in one test, and I know I was really hooking on the YZ – it was tapped.

“I can’t really explain where my extra speed has come from, but I think maybe it’s a mental thing since I beat Matty (teammate Matthew Phillips). We’re good mates and ride together a lot, so now whenever I go to races it’s like ‘I’ve gotta beat Matty!’

“If I do that then I’m pretty much guaranteed a spot on the outright podium. It’s cool I’m winning the E1 class, but my main goal is Outright podiums every time I race. I know I can do it now.”

On a more serious note, I went to visit Ben Grabham last week at the Brisbane Private Hospital, two days after he’d had surgery on his back following the horrific crash he’d suffered at the Condo 750.

It was good to see Grabbo in one piece and on the mend, but the severity of his situation was driven home after I spoke with the surgeons. I won’t go into it now, but stay tuned for a short series of films I’ve done for KTM Australia, the first of which will be released this Friday. All I can say is that it’s very confronting, and Grabbo is one brave bastard.