Offroad legend Toby Price has fallen one place short of pulling off a unique bike/car double in the Tatts Finke Desert race.
Price valiantly sliced his way through the field to finish second in the car class behind first-time winners Glenn Owen and Mathew Ryan.
Owen and Ryan completed the return Finke to Alice Springs leg in their #30 Jimco Nissan 3500cc in 3:45.40s, just over eight minutes ahead of Price and co-driver Kyle Pfitzner (#487 Geiser Brothers Trophy Truck 6000cc).
Price, who came out of his 19th road position at the start, made solid progress through the final 226km, running fifth at the Mt Squires checkpoint before moving to fourth through Bundooma and Rodinga.
He then worked his way into third past Deep Well before slotting into second behind the eventual winners.
West Australians Beau Robinson and Stephen Ketteridge-Hall in the #413 Geiser Brothers Trophy Truck Chev 6000cc, were third.
Price then flew back to Finke to jump aboard his Red Bull KTM 500 EXC before beating fellow KTM rider Tye Simmonds by almost three minutes with David Walsh, on another KTM, in third.
Price, who started the year with a brilliant win in the Dakar Rally in South America, has now recorded five consecutive wins in the Finke.
“I don’t know if I can do it again,” Price told the ABC of the gruelling double duty.
“That’s what we think now but maybe I will wake up in the morning and we will have a whole new aspect on it.
“It wasn’t a double but we were not too far off.”
Among the withdrawals in the car/buggy class were former winners Brad Gallard/Scott Modistach in the #454 Gesier Brothers Trophy Truck 3500cc and Shannon and Ian Rentsch in the #1 Jimco buggy Nissan 3500cc.
Gallard/Modistach suffered mechanical issues between the Mt Squires and Bundooma checkpoints.
The 2015 winners Shannon and Ian Rentsch started in seventh from Finke but failed to make the first checkpoint at Mt Squires.
RESULT: Top 10 car/buggy
|
Pos
|
Class
|
Car
|
Sponsor/Competitor
|
Driver/Co-Driver/Navigator
|
Vehicle
|
Day 1
|
Day 2
|
Overall
|
|---|
| 1 | PRO | 30 | GLENN OWEN | GLENN OWEN VIC MATHEW RYAN NSW | JIMCO 2016 NISSAN 3500cc | 01:50:12 | 01:46:50 | 03:37:02 |
| 2 | X2WD | 487 | TP87 GALLARD BRAD | TOBY PRICE NSW KYLE PFITZNER | GEISER BROS TROPHY T TROPHY TRUCK CHEV 6000cc | 01:51:30 | 01:54:09 | 03:45:40 |
| 3 | X2WD | 413 | OBR BEAU ROBINSON | BEAU ROBINSON WA STEPHEN KETTERIDGE-HALL | GEISER BROS TROPHY TRUCK CHEV 6000cc | 01:50:35 | 01:55:23 | 03:45:59 |
| 4 | X2WD | 410 | GREG GARTNER MOTORSPORTS GREG GARTNER | GREG GARTNER SA JAMIE JENNINGS | FORD F150 FORD 6000cc | 01:53:20 | 01:53:06 | 03:46:27 |
| 5 | PRO | 13 | OBR TRAVIS ROBINSON | TRAVIS ROBINSON WA PAUL CURRIE | JIMCO OBR NISSAN 3500cc | 01:56:35 | 01:55:56 | 03:52:31 |
| 6 | PRO | 18 | BENTLEY MOTORSPORTS HAYDEN BENTLEY | HAYDEN BENTLEY SA BEN CHIVELL SA | RACER ENGINEERING BUGGY CADILAC 3.5TTcc | 01:58:33 | 01:54:54 | 03:53:27 |
| 7 | PRO | 61 | CHRIS WESTERN | CHRIS WESTERN QLD STUART BISHOP QLD | ELEMENT PRODIGY 2014 CHEVROLET 6000cc | 02:01:03 | 01:55:00 | 03:56:03 |
| 8 | PRO | 57 | AARON HABY | AARON HABY SA WAYNE TABE SA | ELEMENT PRODIGY CHEVY 6000cc | 02:01:22 | 01:54:53 | 03:56:16 |
| 9 | PRO | 91 | RHODES RACING – FUCHS #91 JACK RHODES | JACK RHODES SA DAVID PULLINO SA | JIMCO AUSSIE SPECIAL NISSAN 3500cc | 01:57:20 | 02:05:48 | 04:03:09 |
| 10 | PROLITE | 179 | KRAKKA KOLDEE RACING SAM BARNES | SAM BARNES QLD GRANT BOWDEN PETER BARNES | SUPERBOOT RV2 NISSAN 3500cc | 02:03:56 | 02:01:54 | 04:05:50 |
|
Class
|
Num
|
Competitor
|
Town
|
Bike
|
Day 1
|
Day 2
|
Overall
|
|---|
| 1 | 2 | 1 | PRICE, TOBY | ABERGLASSLYN, NSW | KTM 500 EXC | 01:53:19 | 01:53:35 | 03:46:55 |
| 2 | 2 | 2 | SIMMONDS, TYE | BOURKE, NSW | KTM 500 EXC | 01:55:53 | 01:53:49 | 03:49:42 |
| 3 | 2 | 299 | WALSH, DAVID | ALICE SPRINGS, NT | KTM 500 EXC | 01:57:07 | 01:55:04 | 03:52:11 |
| 4 | 5 | X99 | STOKIE, DAYMON | ALICE SPRINGS, NT | HONDA CRF 450R | 01:57:25 | 01:56:46 | 03:54:12 |
| 5 | 5 | 7 | RALSTON, BEAU | KURRI KURRI, NSW | YAMAHA YZF 450 | 02:04:24 | 01:56:55 | 04:01:19 |
| 6 | 2 | 295 | HAYES, LUKE | ALICE SPRINGS, NT | KTM 500 EXC | 02:09:14 | 02:09:11 | 04:18:25 |
| 7 | 5 | X85 | SMITH, TODD | CONDOBLIN, NSW | HONDA CRF 450 | 02:08:38 | 02:10:57 | 04:19:35 |
| 8 | 5 | 10 | COSSENS, RYAN | NUMURKAH, VIC | HONDA CRF 450R | 02:11:54 | 02:09:38 | 04:21:32 |
| 9 | 5 | X96 | AURICHT, CALEB | ALICE SPRINGS, NT | HONDA CRF 450R | 02:13:39 | 02:08:23 | 04:22:02 |
| 10 | 1 | 11 | TRIGG, NATHAN | GLENELG, SA | KTM 300 EXC | 02:15:30 | 02:11:05 | 04:26:36 |
| 11 | 4 | 473 | SIMPSON, JACK | CRANBOURNE, VIC | KTM SFX 250 | 02:14:52 | 02:12:12 | 04:27:04 |
| 12 | 2 | 255 | COLLINS, KENT | MT GAMBIER, SA | KTM 500 EXC | 02:16:24 | 02:15:10 | 04:31:34 |
| 13 | 5 | X79 | ARMSTEAD, ROBERT | ALICE SPRINGS, NT | KTM 450 SXF | 02:26:28 | 02:18:48 | 04:45:17 |
| 14 | 4 | 20 | GROVE, MARK | BACCHUS MARSH, VIC | HONDA CRF 250 | 02:25:49 | 02:20:46 | 04:46:36 |
| 15 | 4 | 497 | ANDREWS, JERAKYE | ALICE SPRINGS, NT | YAMAHA YZ-F 250 | 02:27:04 | 02:20:03 | 04:47:08 |
| 16 | 6 | 13 | SLADEK, MARK | PEARCEDALE, VIC | HUSQVARNA FE 501 | 02:26:55 | 02:22:03 | 04:48:58 |
| 17 | 7 | 747 | KIENHUIS, BRANDON | PLENTY, VIC | HUSQVARNA FC 450 | 02:24:56 | 02:25:52 | 04:50:49 |
| 18 | 7 | 773 | GILLAM, ANDREW | MINNAMURRA, NSW | KTM 450 EXC | 02:26:54 | 02:24:28 | 04:51:23 |
| 19 | 6 | 17 | FAGGOTTER, RODNEY | LONGREACH, QLD | YAMAHA WRF 450 | 02:28:54 | 02:24:02 | 04:52:56 |
| 20 | 2 | 298 | HEDERICS, TOBY | GOL GOL, NSW | KTM 500 EXC | 02:31:55 | 02:21:03 | 04:52:58 |
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