Heading into the 2012 KTM Hattah Desert Race, one name would come to mind for many as a top choice to take out the title, Toby Price.

After already racking up an impressive two Hattah titles in a row, the Motorex KTM Off Road Racing mounted Price took out the top spot in the all-important Prologue and set his sights on his third consecutive win.

MotoOnline.com.au caught up with the current three-time Hattah winner to hear what he had to say about his recent desert domination.

Toby Price took his third consecutive Hattah win in 2012. Image: 404Shots.

You were able to win your third Hattah desert race, making it a hat trick. That was a great result and probably a big milestone for you in your career?

Yeah the win on the weekend was the third one in a row for the Hattah desert race, so I’m pretty stoked to get that one. It’s definitely a highlight in my career to be able to hold onto it for three years in a row.

The Hattah race seems to be getting bigger and bigger every year, What is it about the Hattah race that makes it such a large event?

I think it’s just the atmosphere of being there and having your Friday night sign on and stuff, plus having the track as good as it is, that always makes it good fun to be on the track and riding.

It gets really rough and it’s a four-hour race so you really get your moneys worth paying your entry to go there and race, so it’s great.

Going into these races it’s pretty much Toby Price is expected to win, there are so many competitors there but you are the guy who is singled out and expected to keep that number one plate. Do you feel any pressure from that, or is it something you enjoy?

Yeah, I definitely feel a little bit of pressure from it. Being able to win that one the last two years in a row it has that bit of added pressure where everyone just expects you to do well and to win.

It’s definitely no easy task, it’s pretty hard to stay near the front and be competitive. But it’s something I’m slowly trying to get used to and it also makes me want to keep winning races, so it also helps as well.

Price used the clear track to his advantage after qualifying first in the Prologue. Image: 404Shots.

You said in the KTM press release that you qualified fastest in that Prologue and to had a dust-free run, how important is that Prologue?

Yeah this year for the Hattah race it was pretty important, I think there was a pretty big advantage straight up on that first lap. I knew the track fairly well, there were only a few little changes, and once I got onto the bits that I knew I could put the hammer down and go for it.

I think it helped a lot this year to get that little bit of a lead at the start, and then because the laps were a little longer we had to ensure that our bikes would make the two laps. So I had to fuel the first two laps and to stay near the front after the first lap of fueling definitely helped a lot.

So yeah, it definitely helped a lot to get that Prologue win and it all worked out really well taking the win at the end of the day.

Finally, we see the Finke desert race and the Hattah desert race. Similar names, but they are totally different races once you are on the bike aren’t they?

Yeah definitely, they both sound the same but the one race at Finke is really hard work on the motor and bike itself because it is so much more high speed. But with the Hattah race the four-hour cross-country, it’s a lot harder on the body because you are trying to race as fast as you can for four hours.

So you have to make sure you’re body is in good condition and make sure you’ve had plenty of food and stay really well hydrated just to make it to the end of the race.