Source: KTM Australia.

KTM’s Australian Off-Road Champion Toby Price will make his four-wheel debut in a guest appearance at this weekend’s Clipsal 500 in Adelaide.

Price, 27, will feature in the Super Truck category at the V8 Supercars event, driving a high-powered Trophy Truck in the concept led by NASCAR and Dakar legend Robby Gordon.

“I keep throwing myself in the deep-end and hoping I can swim!” Price explained. “This came about a little bit from doing the Dakar event, we finished well there and Robby Gordon competes in it, and he liked the idea of having me here. We got a few sponsors on board, and it’s great that KTM is a part of it, because it’s already got a lot of people talking.

“With two extra wheels and about another 600hp it’s completely different to racing a bike, these trucks are very twitchy, with a really short wheelbase, and a lot of steering angle, so they drift fairly well. On Monday Robby took me around and taught me what to do here and there, and by the end of it I started launching off ramps and jumping 45 to 48 metres!

“So by the end of it Robby was happy and when you’ve got a legend like him saying you’re not going to look like a fool out there, I’m happy with that. I definitely don’t think we can beat these guys from America that race them all the time, but if we can get in the mix a little bit, it’ll be great.

“Being at the opening round of the V8 Supercars is a pretty big deal and people at the Clipsal 500 are in for a pretty big treat to see what these trucks can do. They’re amazing bits of equipment that can really soar through the air pretty high and they’re loud and fast. Hopefully I can keep the thing on its wheels and have a hell time.”

With the Enduro-X Nationals scheduled for Saturday night in Sydney, Price will be on track in Adelaide on both Friday and Sunday, while contesting the Enduro-X in between.

“It’s going to be a gruelling weekend for him, but if anyone can pull it off, it’s Toby.” commented KTM Australia national marketing manager Greg Chambers. “KTM came on board, both with the idea and as a sponsor on his Super Truck, as a reward and a way of saying congratulations after the fantastic year he’s had since he came back from injury.”

Ensuring Price’s truck won’t sit idle on Saturday is another KTM connection, Queensland Trophy Truck racer Billy Geddes, who in 2014 became the first man to complete the legendary Finke Desert Race twice on the same weekend in a Trophy Truck and on a motorcycle.

The KTM Desert Racing Team helped Geddes out with his bike and preparation on that occasion and Geddes will now share the Super Truck with Price at the Clipsal 500.