Nasser Al-Attiyah for Toyota Gazoo Racing Team races during Stage 8 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Sakaka to Neom, Saudi Arabia on January 11, 2021.

© Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool

Rally Raid

The day at Dakar: Toby Price stays in the mix with a masterclass ride

The second leg of the marathon stage put competitors to the test like never before in the Dakar Rally 2021, but Toby Price rode a stage for the ages on a tyre held together with tape and zip ties.

Written by Josh Sampiero

3 min readPublished on 11.01.2021 · 18:01 UTC

If you ask Toby Price a question, there's 50 percent chance the answer is going to involve the phrase 'No worries, mate.' After all, he's about as Australian as it gets.

When it came to his performance on the second half of the Dakar Rally's marathon stage, it really was no worries, because despite the fact he had a gaping slash in the wall of his KTM's rear tyre repaired with duct tape and a healthy number of a heavy-duty zip ties, he not only finished the stage, but finished in second place and managed to lose only one minute of time to the leader.

Catch all of the action from an eventful day in the Dakar Daily:

Dakar Rally 2021 Dakar Daily – Stage 8 Art

Dakar Daily – Stage 8

Concluding the marathon stage, competitors will travel 375km in a timed special from Sakaka to Neom.

It’s a small note in Price's storied career, but it illustrates a simple truth about rally: sometimes you just have to figure it out. From the very first days of the Paris–Dakar, there was an element of 'bush mechanic' to it, simply born out of necessity. Real workshops or parts warehouses are miles, even continents away, so you just make do and finish. It's one of the few realms of motorsport racing where we can say the journey is the destination, because for 95 per cent of people in the rally, they know they'll never win – it's like signing up for a marathon. You start just to finish.

Image of the rear tyre damage suffered by KTM's Toby Price during stage 7 of the Dakar Rally 2021. — This how Price's rear tyre finished the first half of the marathon stage
© Christine Fial/Red Bull

Image of Toby Price's damaged rear tyre on his KTM at the end of Stage 7 of the Dakar Rally 2021 in Saudi Arabia. — Desperate repairs were needed to give Price a chance of saving his Dakar
© Christine Fial/Red Bull

Image of the running repairs made to his rear tyre by KTM's Toby Price ahead of Stage 8 of the Dakar Rally 2021 in Saudi Arabia on January 11. — The duct tape and zip ties repair held for Stage 8 and Price finished 2nd
© Christine Fial/Red Bull

Toby Price of Red Bull KTM Factory Team races during Stage 8 of Rally Dakar2021 from Sakaka to Neom, Saudi Arabia on January 11, 2021. — Price's ride on Stage 8 was undoubtedly the performance of the race to date
© Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool

Of course, that's the mindset Price had to approach Stage 8 with, but it's a testament to his sheer skill on a bike that he held it together. Why, exactly? Rally raid isn’t always about going flat-out – in fact, managing speed helps reduce breakdowns and navigation errors. With a damaged tyre however, the fine line between too fast and too slow becomes ever thinner. It took a gentle hand on the throttle to keep the rear from spinning out and sure steering to keep up the speed and momentum to stay in the event.

Price's performance on the course was certainly the talk of the bivvy, but hardly the only impressive thing from the stage. Junior driver Seth Quintero keeps nipping at the heels of the leader Austin Jones in the Lightweight Vehicle class, Nasser Al-Attiyah is making the Car class closer and closer behind 13-time Dakar winner Stéphane Peterhansel and KAMAZ-Master saw Anton Shibalov take a stage win for the Truck class, with Dmitry Sotnikov still leading the standings.

Anton Shibalov of Team KAMAZ-Master races during Stage 8 of Rally Dakar2021 from Sakaka to Neom, Saudi Arabia on January 11, 2021. — Another stage, another win for KAMAA-Master – this time for Anton Shibalov
© Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool

Stephane Peterhansel of the X-Raid Mini JCW Team races during Stage 8 of the Dakar 2021 between Sakaka and Neom, in Saudi Arabia on January 11, 2021. — Stéphane Peterhansel lost 3 minutes today, but still leads the Car class
© Eric Vargiolu/DPPI/Red Bull Content Pool

Matthias Walkner of Red Bull KTM Factory Team races during Stage 8 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Sakaka to Neom, Saudi Arabia on January 11, 2021. — Matthias Walkner wasn't holding back
© Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool

Seth Quintero for Red Bull Off-Road Team USA races during Stage 8 of Rally Dakar 2021 from Sakaka to Neom, Saudi Arabia on January 11, 2021. — Seth Quintero continued his chase for the SSV overall title
© Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool

Cyril Despres delivered his best day of the race so far

© Flavien Duhamel/Red Bull Content Pool

Dmitry Sotnikov is still the man to beat in the Trucks

© Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool

Camille Chapelière is gaining vital Dakar experience in his rookie ride

© Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Content Pool

In sad news of the day, Stage 1 winner Cristina Gutiérrez was forced to retire from the Lightweight Vehicle class after being unable to start this morning due to gearbox issues.

Tomorrow? A loop stage through some of Saudi Arabia's most scenic hills and even more dusty, dirty, petrol-powered action. It's a rally and we’ve got some country to cross.

Part of this story

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