[Interviews]

Toby Price: 2016 Baja 1000 Plans

8 years ago | Words: Andy Wigan | Photos: Wade Lewis

We speak exclusively with reigning Dakar Rally champ, Toby Price, about his opportunity to race the Baja 1000 this November – in a trophy truck!

Honestly, it’s hard to keep up with Toby Price. Since becoming the first Australian to win the Dakar Rally back in January, the dude has been on the gas. And I’m not just referring to the months of relentless media commitments after winning the world’s biggest and most prestigious endurance motor race. No, Toby Price has flown back and forth across the globe more times than he can remember to test and race motorcycles in the past eight months; in amongst which he’s also won his fifth Finke Desert Race, attended major film shoots for 60 Minutes and the new Moto 8 film, and happily engaged with thousands of fans who just can’t get enough of the big, laid-back Aussie.

And yet, despite that ridiculously hectic schedule, the guy is looking to load his plate up with even more. Case in point: Earlier this month, just after his 29th birthday, Price announced via Instagram that he’d be taking on the legendary Baja 1000 race in Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula, but not on two wheels. No, as his IG message spelled out, “I’m pumped to be teaming up Jesse Jones and taking on the Baja 1000 on four wheels in a Geiser Brothers trophy truck. I will be running around 300-350 miles of track, which will be great seat-time and loads of experience. Can’t wait to see what the event brings.”

Just before Pricey jetted off to South America to meet his KTM Factory Racing team and compete in the Atacama Rally – the fifth Round of the FIM Cross Country Rally World Championship in Chile, in which he finished in second Overall to Pablo Quintanilla – we spoke to him about how his Baja 1000 trophy truck opportunity and whether it’s fast-tracked his long-held ambitions to race full-time on four wheels.

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TM: How did the opportunity arise to race the trophy truck at Baja, Toby? And who’s involved from a sponsor/supporter point of view?
TP: I’ve been a friend of Jesse Jones since my very first visit to Baja 1000 in 2012, and we’ve stayed in touch. Having raced Finke this year in the truck, I had the best crew around me. Rick Geiser, who builds these trucks, also came to Australia for support and to help. Anyway, Jesse was looking for a driver to compete with him at this year’s Baja 1000, and Rick said I would be a great fit. So it all started from there. No sponsors are involved from my side as of yet, but we’ll see who is keen to help. Jesse is a self-funded race team. He runs his own program with no sponsors as he believes it’s easier. But he runs a really good show and is a top-five contender for sure. I just hope I can drive well for him and get some good practice in for more events in the future.

Did this year’s impressive four-wheeled debut at Finke galvanise your long-held ambition to race cars or trucks professionally?
I’m sure it helped, but doing a few other events on four wheels has also opened doors. Racing in the SST (Stadium Super Trucks) events at Adelaide’s Clipsal 500 is what started all this, and if I can keep improving over time, I hope it can lead something in the future – after my two-wheel racing, that is.

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Baja must bring back some dark memories for you. Has that got anything to do with you racing it on four wheels this year, not two?
Kind of. After my neck injury in America in early 2013, I went back as a spare rider for the Baja 1000 and to be around the KTM team. And that’s when we lost all-time badass on the bike, Kurt Caselli. Moving to the four wheels this year has nothing to do with bad memories of the place; it’s just that an opportunity like this rarely comes up. It’s very costly to buy these race trucks and have crew there to help, so it’s a chance I couldn’t pass up. I still have a fire inside that wants to take me back there on two wheels, but KTM doesn’t have an official Baja team. And the 1000 very close to Dakar, which is now my main event for the year. So a roll cage makes things as safe as possible to compete back in Baja, and still be ready for Dakar.

What class will you be contesting, and how does the Baja truck differ from your Finke rig?
I’ll be contesting in the Trophy Truck class in a brand new 4WD TT. This one is a lot different from the truck I drove at Finke. Aside from being AWD, not 2WD, it has more horsepower – around 850-900Hp, I believe. And it has all the navigation systems in it to map the course. I’ll do course notes in a completely different truck – a pre runner that’s basically a normal cab off a car, set onto a race truck chassis. In other words, it’s heavier and has a bigger wheelbase to take the punishment. So the whole thing is a big and expensive project.

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What goals have you set for yourself?
None really. I’ll just be happy to be back at Baja in Mexico and getting to race the best-built trucks in the business. I just want Jesse and me to finish. He has told me he expects nothing fancy from me. I just hope I can show enough potential for the race to lead to many more drives together in the future.

Does Donald Trump know you plan to smuggle a few Mexicans back into the US?
He doesn’t have to worry. They’ll only be in the US for a stopover before coming back to Oz with me. I need a practice mechanic and some hired help back home, so they won’t leave my gearbag until Aussie soil (laughs).

Thanks for your time, mate. Sounds like Baja will be a blast.
Cheers.

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