Toby Price Tops Rallye Du Maroc

Price wins 2018 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship with Morocco victory

Multiple stage wins as well as podiums at the Atacama Rally and Desafio Ruta 40, added to his win in Morocco, have resulted in Toby Price winning the 2018 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship. “What an amazing season—I can’t believe it,” Price said. “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.”Courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool

Aussie off-roader Toby Price claimed an impressive win at the recent Rallye du Maroc. The win elevated the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider to the top of the final 2018 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship standings, giving Price his first-ever world title.

Winning two of the five stages of the Rallye du Maroc, as well as the short, opening Prologue, Price secured the overall win ahead of 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.

American Ricky Brabec won the fifth and final stage of the Rallye du Maroc, and by doing so, finished third overall in the race.

Price’s KTM teammate Matthias Walkner of Austria finished second overall after pushing his fellow Dakar winner all the way.Courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool
Monster Energy Honda Team’s Ricky Brabec triumphed on the final day of the Rallye du Maroc to take third place overall for the second year running. The American also secured a final place on the rally’s podium as the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship season concludes. Brabec finishes the campaign in fifth overall position. This wasn’t the first time that Brabec has won a world championship stage—he did so last year with a partial victory in this same race with an identical third-place podium outcome.Courtesy of Monster Energy HRC
A heavy impact with a large rock damaged Sam Sunderland’s rear tire and mousse and resulted in lost time, but despite the setback, the British rider posted some excellent stage results, enough to regain a position inside the top-10 at the climax of the event.Courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool
The last stage of the 2018 Morocco Rally also saw Andrew Short put in his best individual stage performance at this year’s event. Securing an eighth-place result on the final stage, Short claimed seventh in the Morocco Rally’s overall standings.Courtesy of Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
Pablo Quintanilla was fourth overall at the 2018 Morocco Rally. “It’s been a long week of racing here in Morocco and I am happy with fourth in the overall results,” Quintanilla said. “I gave my best this season to defend my World Championship and I am satisfied to finish the season in the runner-up spot. I was on the podium in every race we took part in and ended the season with fourth here at the Morocco Rally.”Courtesy of Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
Price’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 the Red Bull KTM rider 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.Courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool
Short was pleased with seventh overall. “I really enjoyed this last day of racing here in Morocco,” he said. “Today we had some technical parts, but overall traction was good and I could push for a good result. This rally was quite fast and had less sandy sections than what I expected, but overall it was a good experience.”Courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool/ Kin Marcin
Sunderland talked about his fifth-place finish after the race. “I am really happy with my rally here in Morocco—the team have all done a great job,” he said. “I had some bad luck earlier on but overall I am pleased with how things have gone as my riding and navigation were strong throughout the rally.”Courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool/ Kin Marcin

2018 Rallye du Maroc Results

Position Rider Country Brand Time
1 Toby Price Australia KTM 16:08:37
2 Matthias Walkner Austria KTM 16:16:09 +7:32
3 Ricky Brabec United States Honda 16:25:12 +16:35
4 Pablo Quintanilla Chile Husqvarna 16:43:29 +34:52
5 Paulo Gonçalves Portugal Honda 16:57:51 +49:14