Toby Price and his team owner co-driver Paul Weel qualified fourth for the 2024 SCORE Baja 1000, the oldest, and considered to be the most iconic, most prestigious, toughest, and longest continuously held desert race in the world.

However when they reached Mile 505 of the 864.13 miles (1390kms) journey, a failed oil pump caused the belt to break. They tried another belt but it too broke which suggested the pump had seized or something in the internals of the big horsepower Mason Motorsport AWD Trophy Truck was the cause.

“You can prepare for months and even years to win the Baja 1000, but nothing can ever prepare you for the wild problems you will encounter each and every time! The main thing is that our boys are safe, and we’ll be back to fight for another victory in 2025,” reported Price.

The 57th SCORE Baja 1000 race started on Friday, November 15 in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico.

The 1000 is the final race in the SCORE World Desert Championship, held over four races in Baja California.

The event started well for the Aussies, with Price and Weel second on the road and third on corrected times at Mile 119. With a driver change completed, Weel and Brent Bauman took over for the run up the Baja Peninsula coastline.

However the pair had a flat tyre and lost track position, dropping to fifth, before they regained the third and handed the driving duties to Price. The third stop came at Race Mile 460 for fuel and four new BFGoodrich tyres and they resumed in third on the road.

“Extremely disappointed as our entire team has gone above and beyond this past three weeks which I am very grateful for. Sorry to our partners and everyone who helps us pull this all together. We’ll be back!” added Weel.