Australian Toby Price has enjoyed a brilliant run in the prestigious Baja 1000, securing a well-deserved runner-up finish in the international off road event in Mexico.
Racing in the world’s oldest desert race with fellow off road veteran and 2019 Dakar champion Nasser Al-Attiyah, Price was instrumental in getting the Jesse Jones Mason-Built No. 76 Ford F-250 on the podium.
More than 260 cars from 22 countries were entered in the 800-mile event known for its harsh conditions and continuous course, which was made harder with the constant rainfall throughout.
Of all the crews entered in the event, just over half managed to cross the finish line with a 54.92 finishing percentage, as a number of crews either failed to finish or were disqualified throughout the event.
Price started this year’s event alongside navigator Dustin Hellstrom in the middle of the pack and drove the truck with caution and pace before handing it over to Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel who steered the car to third place with a time of just over 16 hours.
Despite crossing in third, the team were then promoted to second behind Mexicans Alan and Aaron Ampudia after the official review.
“I think we started 26th or 28th this morning, so to be the third trophy truck across the line – I think the rookies did pretty good,” Price said.
For Al-Attiyah, the race was his first in Baja and his longest stint in a trophy truck, having just raced a truck for around 30km previous to the race.
“We had a lot to learn from this terrain and style of racing, but we enjoyed it. I am sure next year we can have a good fight with the top drivers,” Al-Attiyah said.
“We’d really like to thank Jesse Jones for giving us a chance to drive this amazing machine.”
Rounding out the top podium were Luke McMillin and 13-time Baja 1000 overall winner Larry Roeseler.
Art Eugenio / Red Bull Content Pool
Price’s result proved to be a major confidence booster for 2020 with the Red Bull athlete in the hunt to take out his first Tatts Finke Desert Race after crashing out in this year’s event.
Click here to view full results from The BFGoodrich Tires SCORE 52nd Baja 1000 Presented by 4 Wheel Parts.
