Toby Price Wins 2018 World Rally Title

The man with the mullet, Toby Price, has won the 2018 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship with victory at the final round of the season – the Rally du Maroc. His win in Morocco elevated the former Dakar Rally winner to the top of the World Championship standings, allowing Toby to claim his first ever world title.

Winning two of the five stages of the Rally du Maroc (as well as the short, opening Prologue), Price secured the Overall win ahead of his teammate, Mathias Walkner, with a comfortable margin of more than seven minutes. With his nearest title rival, Pablo Quintanilla, finishing in fourth place Overall, Toby leapfrogged the Chilean rider in the standings to claim the championship by a six-point margin.

Toby’s journey to the 2018 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship title has not been an easy one. A crash at the 2017 Dakar Rally forced him to retire early from the event with Price subsequently spending much of the year recovering from the broken femur he sustained. Returning to competition at the 2018 Dakar last January, Price impressed with his outright speed, ultimately taking two stage wins and finishing in third position Overall.

Riding with great consistency throughout the 2018 season has paid off for Price. Multiple stage wins as well as podiums at the Atacama Rally and Desafio Ruta 40, added to his win in Morocco, have resulted in the 31-year-old becoming a worthy 2018 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Champion.

Toby Price: “What an amazing season – I can’t believe it. It’s been a tough one and I didn’t expect to be at the top of the list at the end of it. I had some bad luck back in Abu Dhabi at the beginning of the year, but after that every rally has gone well and I’ve finished on the podium at every round. To win the world championship with a win here in Morocco makes it all that little bit sweeter. If I am honest, I was nervous out there on the final stage today, there are no guarantees in rally racing, especially when I had to lead the stage out. This is my first world championship in any category so I am so, so happy. It’s all credit to my team and everyone at Red Bull KTM. Without them behind me, I wouldn’t be standing on the top step. I’m standing on the top of the world and it’s the best feeling ever.”

The next competitive outing for the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team will be the 2019 Dakar Rally in Peru, starting January 6, 2019.

Results – Stage Five – 2018 Rally du Maroc

1. Ricky Brabec (USA), Honda, 2:31:56
2. Toby Price (AUS), KTM, 2:32:08 +12 seconds
3. Matthias Walkner (AUT), 2:32:13 +17 seconds
4. Paulo Goncalves (PRT), Honda, 2:32:56 +1:00
5. Sam Sunderland (GBR), KTM, 2:33:55 +1:59

Provisional Standings – 2018 Rally du Maroc after 5 of 5 stages

1. Toby Price (AUS), KTM, 16:08:37
2. Matthias Walkner (AUT), KTM, 16:16:09 +7:32
3. Ricky Brabec (USA), Honda, 16:25:12 +16:35
4. Pablo Quintanilla (CHI), Husqvarna, 16:43:29 +34:52
5. Paulo Goncalves (PRT), Honda, 16:56:51 +48:14

Final Standings – 2018 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship

1. Toby Price (AUS), KTM, 91 points
2. Pablo Quintanilla (CHL), Husqvarna, 85pts
3. Matthias Walkner (AUT), KTM, 75pts
4. Paulo Goncalves (POR), Honda, 70pts
5. Kevin Benavides (ARG), Honda, 56pts