Source: KTM.

KTM Off-Road Racing Team rider Toby Price is about to embark on his first race of the new year and possibly the toughest racing challenge of his career, as the world’s biggest off-road race, the famous Dakar Rally kicks off in Buenos Aires today.

The 27-year-old from Maitland in New South Wales drew the attention of the KTM factory and earned the ride on the back of a glittering 2014 season which netted him Finke, Hattah, AORC, and Desert Tri-Series crowns in Australia, as well as second Outright in this year’s ISDE and a top 10 finish in the Morocco Rally.

“Dakar to me is the biggest race in the world,” Price said. “You cross three countries and do around 10,000km so it’s a tough and challenging race. Just to get a chance to race this event is a huge achievement in itself, and I’m just blown away with the opportunity that KTM have given me to compete in this event – speechless really.

“My bike will be the same one that I competed on in Morocco. It’s the KTM 450 Rally bike and it’s really nice to ride, easy to work on and handles the long and rough conditions well. At this stage I’m not sure what my role is. I’m sure I’ll be helping the factory guys if something goes wrong for them, but mainly I’m there just to learn and see how the event runs.

“For me I’m going to be happy to finish. I want to be at the finish line so I can learn everything I can and know what my body will feel like at the end of the event. If I can get one top 10 finish and finish in the top 30 overall I’ll be very happy. I can’t expect too much on my first Dakar race.”

For more than 30 years the Dakar Rally has been the toughest off-road racing challenge on the planet, and this year’s 14 day, 9000+ kilometre epic traversing Argentina, Chile and Bolivia will be as stern a test as any.

Just as much a test of endurance as raw speed, the event pushes riders to the limit, with the longest day in the saddle being day 12’s 1024 kilometres of transport and competitive section known as Special Stage, while day eight will contain an enormous 781km of Special Stage.

KTM Australia has a rich history of contributing riders to the event, supporting men such as Andy Haydon, David Schwarz, the late Andy Caldecott and Ben Grabham, who have been stage winners or podium finishers and created a high level of interest for the event in Australia.

Defending Dakar champion, KTM-mounted World Rally Champion Marc Coma from Spain will be shooting for his fifth Dakar win when the event kicks off.