Toby Price Makes Dakar History

AAP

Australian rider Toby Price still can't believe he is the first Australian to win the Dakar Rally in any category.

As Toby Price lay in hospital with a broken neck, he never imagined that less than three years later he would be the first Australian to win the Dakar Rally in any category.

The 28-year-old from the NSW Hunter Valley finished almost 40 minutes in front of his nearest rival in the motorcycle division to make history in the gruelling race in Argentina on Sunday.

In April 2013, Price crashed during a race and broke three vertebrae in his neck, narrowly avoiding becoming a quadriplegic.

"I was very, very lucky to get back on my feet and walk again, let alone get back on a dirt bike," Price told AAP on Monday.

"My main goal was getting back on the dirt bike and starting to ride again.

"Three years later I definitely could not imagine winning the Dakar Rally.

"The hard work, the training and all the work behind the scenes finally all paid off."

Price raced motocross and supercross until 2009 when he made the switch to Enduro racing.

After switching, he won the Australian Off-Road Championship in his first season - a race where he has tasted success four times - before going on to record multiple wins in the Finke and Hattah desert races.

In his debut Dakar last year, Price became the second Australian to achieve a place on the podium.

Following that performance he signed for the Red Bull KTM team, whom he raced for during this year's victory.

"This is the very first day I've woken up and been able to process this," Price said.

"It's amazing. I'm over the moon and I still can't believe it."

The two-week event covered more than 9,300 kilometres with competitors contending with stifling heat, treacherous terrain and headache-inducing altitudes peaking at 4600m - all on three to four hours sleep a night.

"It's physically draining and mentally draining," Price said.

"The elements, the altitude - it's a struggle to breathe up there let alone to try and race.

"It's very tough and demanding. The conditions we're riding in the middle of the desert - heat, sand dunes."

And navigating these tricky stages are a key part of any rider's success.

"I know how to ride the motorbike. I know I can ride fast, but it's another thing to mix riding fast and trying to navigate," Price said.

"Two, three, four degrees off can lead you in the wrong spot."

Price will now head back to Australia for a break, but aims to return to the famous race in 2017 to defend his title.

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Dakar Price Could be Right for Toby

Toby Price extended his huge lead on the penultimate stage of the Dakar Rally and is just one ride away from making history as the first Australian to win the famous race.

Price (KTM) finished second in the 481km 12th stage between San Juan and Villa Carlos Paz in Argentina, 7min 32sec behind Portugal’s Helder Rodrigues (Yamaha), who clocked 5hr 57min 24sec.

The finish saw Price push his overall lead in the motorbikes category out to 37min 39sec over Slovakian teammate Stefan Svitko, who was fourth on Stage 12, 9min 48sec behind Rodrigues. Chilean Pablo Quintanilla of Husqvarna lies third at 53min 10sec.

While nothing is guaranteed in the Dakar, Price would need to strike navigational or bike problems on the final stage to be denied the race victory.

Price, 28, is poised to claim his first Dakar win in Rosario on Saturday (local time), which would earn him a slice of history as the race’s first Aussie champion.

“I haven’t really looked into the history of results yet,” Price said.

“I’ll look at that tomorrow once it’s all done. If that happens it will be a bit of history and I’ll be pretty stoked with that.”

Price said he had made the tactical decision to let Rodrigues go ahead unchallenged for the stage win, given the Portuguese rider was not an overall threat and conditions were treacherous.

“It was on really sharp shale-like rock. It was really sketchy, really skatey and it felt like I was riding on ice,” he said.

“We had a couple of excursions off the track a couple of times so we thought we’d whack it down and make sure that we get to the finish. I looked back and saw Helder and he was on the gas. He’s in the running, but for me he’s no problem if he passed me, so I didn’t put up a fight. Once he got there, I let him through, then just continued on with my own race. We’re here at the finishing line and that’s the main thing.”

Price had a relatively trouble-free day, as French teammate Antoine Meo rode with him under team instructions. Meo had been sitting third before the longest stage of the endurance race but dropped to sixth overall after losing half an hour during a heavy fall 50km from the finish.

“There’s one stage left, right? Ah, I didn’t dream it,” Meo said.

“I don’t remember anything, just the Iritrack buzzing to call me after the fall. I know that I went to look for a way point at one moment. I’d lost time and was riding with Toby... is that right?

“It’s a pain in the arse. It was one hell of a crash. I’m hurting everywhere, my hand, my neck, my head… everything except my arse!”

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Stephane Peterhansel Quotes

"When you think of how hard it is to win a Dakar, it's incredible that I've been able to win ten of them. It's been a long time, I've been waiting for five years to win again!"

"To take the victory in South America is a huge relief, it ranks among my best triumphs. Moreover, the race was very close during the first week and there was always a lot of pressure. Winning the rally for Team X-Raid makes it even more special, since Sven Quandt has been waiting for years for this to happen."

"I don't know what I could do to go one better! Beating this record is going to be difficult... for the others! This race is stressful, exciting and fascinating, and it's also very rewarding at the end. Now I'm going to party with the entire team and then we'll see. My finest victory will always be my first win in the motorcycle category, but this one has something special to it. I was starting to doubt myself, to think I was growing too old for this, that I'd lost it or that I wasn't made for South America... and in the end everything turned out fine!"

"But I still have a blue bandana from my motorcycling period. I didn't tell anyone, but I kept it in my pocket throughout the entire rally. It's the story of the comeback of the blue bandana."

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Nasser al-Attiyah Struggles on Stage 5

Qatar's defending champion Nasser al-Attiyah suffered another disastrous drive on Thursday's fifth stage of the Dakar Rally, losing more than 20 minutes after his Hummer overheated.

Poland's Krzysztof Holowczyc, in a Mini, won the stage between Chilecito and Fiambala ahead of American Robby Gordon, with Stephane Peterhansel coming in third to maintain his lead atop the overall standings.

Holowczyc finished the 153km special in 2hr 10min 51sec, 1:01 in front of Gordon, with Peterhansel, a six-time Dakar motorcycling champion and three-time car winner, at 3:52.

"It was so easy because of the rain in the evening yesterday and overnight the sand was not too soft and it was easy to drive," said Holowczyc.

"We decided to attack properly, though we went off the road and couldn't see the road at times. For sure it was a good stage and we are back in the game."

Peterhansel added: "Fiambala is always a very difficult stage. This morning we started first, so opening the road was not good, but we took our time to navigate well.

"We never lost the track. Sometimes we lost a little time, but we never took the wrong turn. In the end we didn't do the best time, but a decent time I think."

The Pole now stands second behind Peterhansel in the overall standings at 4:18, but al-Attiyah's radiator woes, which hit when he was well set for a possible victory after notching up the best intermediate times on the stage, left him in eighth place, a huge 50:47 off the pace.

"The spare wheel was loose and it hit the engine water pipe, breaking it and after the temperature was very high, so we stopped to repair it again and lost a lot of time," he said.

"But what can I do? I was really having a good run, I was doing my maximum but I don't know what's wrong.

"My plan today was to take at least 10 minutes from everybody and that's what was happening because I was really fast until control point 2.

"But after, we stopped there because we needed water and to fix and prepare the car. So, yes, I'm disappointed again!"

French KTM rider Cyril Despres clocked 2hr 28min 33sec to win the motorbike section ahead of Spanish rival Marc Coma and consolidate his overall lead in the gruelling race to 9min 51sec over the Spaniard.

Friday's sixth stage sees competitors travelling 247km from Fiambala across the Andes to Copiapo, Chile, a town which made media headlines in 2010 when 33 miners remained blocked underground for 69 days.

Peterhansel Leads Dakar Cars

France's Dakar Rally legend Stephane Peterhansel took the overall lead in the car section here on Wednesday after winning the fourth stage, a 326km special from San Juan to Chilecito.

The 46-year-old Mini driver, a six-time Dakar motorcycling champion and three-time car winner, endured a miserable day on Tuesday when he suffered two punctures but on Wednesday it was the turn of Qatar's defending champion Nasser Al-Attiyah to have a nightmare.

The 31-year-old's Hummer broke down after 288km of the stage and only got going again after a 15-minute stop, leaving Al-Attiyah seventh overall and over half an hour off the pace.

While he fumed, Peterhansel came in 5min 19sec ahead of Argentinian driver Orlando Terranova, while the latter's fellow Toyota driver, experienced South African Giniel De Villiers, was third, 6min 42sec adrift.

Peterhansel, though, was not so happy that he had re-taken the overall lead.

"I would have preferred not to lead the field tomorrow (Thursday), since there will be no motorcycle tracks," he said.

"This is not what I would have liked from a tactical point of view, but I think the others made a lot of mistakes, so we will race at the front."

Defending motorcycling champion Marc Coma had earlier won the bikes stage, rebounding from a poor day on Tuesday, when he had lost the overall lead.

The 35-year-old KTM rider came in 2min 02sec ahead of main rival and team-mate Cyril Despres of France, who retained the overall lead with an advantage of 8min 10sec over the Spaniard.

Dutchman Frans Verhoeven, riding for Sherco, was third, over eight minutes off the pace, having finished second in Tuesday's stage.

Coma had led three-time motorcycling champion Despres by over two minutes, but fell 10 minutes behind him on Tuesday after he took the wrong route.

"I tried to drive at a very high pace from the beginning, but it was difficult," said Coma.

"I was able to overtake a few drivers and gain some time on Cyril. Fiambala and many other stages still lie ahead. That is the way things are right now. And I keep on fighting every day."

For his part, Despres said he had just been content to play safe and restrict the damage done to his overall lead by Coma.

"It was difficult because the rainfall in the region these last few days furrowed the tracks and exposed big rocks," he said.

"Moreover, with this heat it is physically demanding to maintain a high pace in these conditions... So I am quite happy with my performance today (Wednesday).

"At the beginning I saw Marc surge ahead and I knew he would claw some time back, but I focused on the navigation to avoid making any mistakes."

South Africa's Mark Corbett and Francois Jordaan are 19th overall after the first four stages of the 2012 Dakar Rally.

The first four days of the marathon event between Mar del Plata in Argentina and Lima in Peru have been described as the most torrid start to the world's longest and most difficult motor race since its inception in 1979.

Dakar Rally standings after Stage 4

Cars - Stage 4 Results:

1. Peterhansel (FRA) Cottret (FRA) Mini 03:49:33

2. Terranova (ARG) Grider (USA) Toyota 00:05:19

3. De Villiers (RSA) Von Zitzewitz (GER) Toyota 03:56:15

4. Roma (ESP) Périn (FRA) Mini 03:57:08

5. Holowczyc (POL) Fortin (BEL) Mini 04:00:24

6. Sousa (POR) Garcin (FRA) GWM 04:01:13

7. Wevers (NED) Lurquin (BEL) Mitsubishi 04:02:50

8. Vos (RSA) Howie (RSA) Toyota 04:03:22

9. Spinelli (BRA) Haddad (BRA) Mitsubishi 04:03:44

10. Novitzkiy (RUS) Schulz (GER) Mini 04:03:46

20. Corbett (RSA) Jordaan (RSA) CR4 04:25:14

Cars – Overall:

1. Peterhansel (FRA) Cottret (FRA) Mini 09:43:20

2. De Villiers (RSA) Von Zitzewitz (GER) Toyota 00:05:41

3. Roma (ESP) Périn (FRA) Mini 00:06:44

4. Holowczyc (POL) Fortin (BEL) Mini 00:08:10

5. Gordon (USA) Campbell (USA) Hummer 00:16:23

6. Novitzkiy (RUS) Schulz (GER) Mini 00:26:25

7. Al-Attiyah (QAT) Cruz (ESP) Hummer 00:30:44

8. Sousa (POR) Garcin (FRA) GWM 00:30:45

9. Alvarez (ARG) Graue (ARG) Toyota 00:33:11

10. Wevers (NED) Lurquin (BEL) Mitsubishi 00:36:42

12. Vos (RSA) Howie (RSA) Toyota 00:57:50

19. Corbett (RSA) Jordaan (RSA) CR4 01:33:09

Bikes - Stage 4 Results:

1. Marc Coma (ESP) KTM 4hr 16min 43sec

2. Cyril Després (FRA) KTM at 2min 02sec

3. Frans Verhoeven (NED) Sherco 8:26

4. Helder Rodrigues (POR) Yamaha 9:01

5. Paulo Goncalves (POR) Husqvarna 11:18

6. Juan Pedro Garcia (ESP) KTM 11:20

7. Alain Duclos (FRA) Aprilia 13:20

8. Stefan Svitko (SVK) KTM 13:42

9. Francisco Lopez (CHI) Aprilia 14:15

10. David Casteu (FRA) Yamaha 15:23

40. Darryl Curtis (RSA) KTM 56:11 

102. Greg Raaf (RSA) KTM 02:23:19

108. Iain Stevenson (RSA) KTM 02:34:00

131. Neil Scott-Williams (RSA) KTM 03:43:50

Bikes – Overall:

1. Cyril Després (FRA) KTM 11hr 50min 27sec

2. Marc Coma (ESP) KTM at 8min 10sec

3. Helder Rodrigues (POR) Yamaha 26:48

4. Francisco Lopez (CHI) Aprilia 29:50

5. David Casteu (FRA) Yamaha 30:37

6. Paulo Gonçalves (POR) Husqvarna 35:16

7. Frans Verhoeven (NED) Sherco 37:48

8. Juan Pedro Garcia (ESP) KTM 38:19

9. Jordi Viladoms (ESP) KTM 44:00

10. Gerard Farres Guell (ESP) KTM 44.24

44. Darryl Curtis (RSA) KTM 2:57:35

111. Iain Stevenson (RSA) KTM 07:28:54

115. Greg Raaf (RSA) KTM 07:48:51

126. Neil Scott-Williams (RSA) KTM 10:02:17

Nasser al Attiyah Rebounds in Dakar

Qatar's defending Dakar Rally car champion Nasser al Attiyah rebounded from losing 10 minutes on the first stage by taking Monday's second stage. The 31-year-old, who had an engine problem with his Hummer in Sunday's opener, beat Mini's Stephane Peterhansel of France by 54 seconds in the 290km drive from Santa Rosa de la Pampa.

Peterhansel, a six-time Dakar motorcycling champion and three times in the car section, took the overall lead ahead of Al Attiyah's Hummer team-mate Robby Gordon of the United States. Al Attiyah, who moved up to sixth, won despite his windscreen smashing and admitted that he needed to drive more carefully in the forthcoming stages.

"We broke the window, and it was very difficult because it took a lot of time to pass the other cars," said the Qatari, who started in 38th position. "I just said that we had to have a good strategy and show we were still in the race. However, we must be more clever." Peterhansel said that he had not found many opportunities to gain time on his rivals.

"The start of the special was fast, so it wasn't possible to steal a march on any of the other drivers," said the 46-year-old. "We felt better at the end when it started to bump around a bit and get trickier around the dunes." Gordon cursed his luck at not taking the stage on what was his 43rd birthday.

"It was a good day for us, everything about the car was good," said Gordon, whose best finish in the race was third in 2009.

"However, we hit a big rock and got a puncture and I reckon that, without that, we could have won the stage."

Motorcycling champion Marc Coma had earlier won his 17th career stage in the race.

The Spaniard moved to the top of the standings after winning the 295km second stage which also saw him extend his lead over KTM team-mate and main rival Cyril Despres.

Despres finished second in the stage but was one minute and 18 seconds in arrears of Coma.

First stage winner Francisco ‘Chaleco’ Lopez of Chile was ahead at the first time marker but faded to finish fourth over two minutes behind Coma.

Despres nevertheless experienced a better day than he had on Sunday — when he finished 13th — and the three-time champion is nearly three minutes adrift of Coma.

One of Despres' compatriots Bruno Da Costa was not so fortunate.

The 38-year-old Yamaha rider crashed into a cow, which was killed instantly, and was taken to hospital with what appeared to be a serious kidney injury.