Many say that nothing lasts forever and that every love story has an end and so it was with Toby Price and KTM, who officially announced the end of their partnership just moments ago.

For 15 years, Price has been a prominent figure in the world of competitive motorcycling, riding KTM bikes for the majority of his career. His journey began in Australia, where he clinched an impressive five Australian Off-Road Championship titles before transitioning to the global arena. Notably, at the 2014 FIM International Six Days Enduro (ISDE), he showcased his prowess by dominating the E3 category while representing his nation, laying the foundation for his rally career.

In 2016, in just his second year as a factory rider, Price secured a remarkable victory at the Dakar Rally, dominating five stages and clinching the overall win with a substantial lead. His triumphs didn’t stop there; in 2019, despite battling a broken wrist during the grueling race, he clinched his second Dakar Rally victory astride his KTM 450 RALLY. The 2024 Dakar Rally marked his impressive 10th participation in the event, a testament to his enduring excellence.

Price’s achievements extend beyond the Dakar, as evidenced by his 2018 triumph as the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Champion, where he displayed consistent excellence throughout the season, including a notable victory at the Rallye du Maroc.

As Toby embarks on the next chapter of his career, KTM expresses its heartfelt gratitude for the countless milestones achieved alongside Red Bull KTM Factory Racing. The entire team extends their best wishes to Toby for continued success in his future endeavors.

Pit Beirer – KTM Motorsports Director: ‘A massive thank you to Toby for everything he has contributed to our rally program, and for the passion he has constantly shown for the sport and the brand. Joining the KTM family over 15 years ago, he has brought home a collection of trophies and successes for the team, including his world championship title and two Dakar wins. Toby has been a hugely influential member of the rally team, and his significance to the brand and its many triumphs cannot be overstated. I’m certain I speak for all at KTM when I wish him well in his future endeavors’.

O conteúdo Breaking news: Toby Price and KTM part ways after 15 years aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

After 11 motorbike participations, Laia Sanz decided to make a change and a few weeks ago completed her third Dakar on four wheels. The 38-year-old rider says she has no regrets about her decision.

‘I miss a lot of things. I don’t miss taking so many risks, but I do miss socialising with my teammates and day-to-day life, because I had a rally bike at home and I trained every day, something I can’t do with cars. I also liked the peace of mind I had in the last few years of my contract. You’d sign for two or three years and you could work as you wanted, without thinking about what you’d have to do the following year or that you’d have to start a new project from scratch, as is the case now. I wouldn’t be lazy about getting ready to race motorbikes again, but it’s very dangerous and now I’m at a different point with the cars’ said Laia in an interview with Sport newspaper.

‘There’s no way I’d ever ride a motorbike again. Now I look at things and think how crazy I was, that I was lost for taking part 11 times, not two or three by mistake, but 11’ added the experienced rider laughingly in another conversation with AS.

The last time she took part in the Dakar on two wheels, Laia finished 18th in the overall motorbike standings.

O conteúdo ‘There’s no way I’d ride a motorbike again’ – Laia Sanz aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

This year, Paolo Ciabatti takes on a new challenge as he becomes the General Manager of Ducati Corse Off-Road, the new division of the manufacturer dedicated to motocross. But could the off-road segment expand in the future and enter rally-raid events like the Dakar?

Ciabatti addressed this question in an interview with AS, starting by recalling Ducati’s achievements in MotoGP in 2023: ‘Last year was amazing in MotoGP with 17 victories, 17 pole positions, all of this with six different riders’.

Regarding his move to the off-road project, Ciabatti explained: ‘You reach a point in your life where you need something new to do with more enthusiasm. At 66 years old, although MotoGP has given me a lot, especially because winning two World Championships was a great success in my career, I like to put my experience into a totally new project in which Ducati will start in a world that did not exist in our history, and where we hope to achieve the successes we have had in MotoGP’.

This year, Ducati will be participating in the Italian Motocross Championship to prepare for entry into the MXGP World Championship and AMA Supercross. As for entering the Dakar Rally in the future, Ciabatti stated: ‘We don’t have a plan at the moment to enter the Dakar, but when you have a bike with 450 cubic centimeters… it is likely that there is that possibility to consider. But it is a plan that does not exist at the moment. The Dakar is an interesting race to consider, and in recent days, I met with David Castera to learn how everything works so that I can gain some experience’.

O conteúdo Could Ducati race the Dakar Rally in the future? Here is Paolo Ciabatti’s answer aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Ricky Brabec was the big winner of the 46th edition of Dakar, which concluded last Friday, on the 19th. With this triumph, the American rider, in addition to enhancing his palmares, will fill his bank account.

For winning the competition, the Monster Energy Honda rider will receive 50 thousand euros, as detailed by DAZN. The second-placed Ross Branch (Hero MotoSports) will be entitled to half of that amount, namely 25 thousand euros, while the third-placed Frenchman Adrian van Beveren (Monster Energy Honda) will accumulate 15 thousand euros.

In the final standings, Brabec surpassed Branch by 10m53s, having managed to win a stage: the tenth, where he made all the difference.

O conteúdo How much money did the winner of Dakar 2024 earn? aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

The Dakar 2024 concluded yesterday, and at the final finish line, there was only one woman: Jane Daniels, a factory rider for Fantic Racing, thus securing the Women’s Trophy.

There were only two women at the start, the other being Yael Kadshai (Nomade Racing/GasGas). The German rider was consistently behind Daniels, except for the seventh stage, where she was the fastest in the Women’s Trophy, until she was forced to retire in the ninth stage.

From then on, Daniels was the sole representative of women in the peloton. She finished in 48th place overall, over 18 hours behind the winner Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy Honda).

O conteúdo Jane Daniels was the only woman to finish the Dakar on motorcycles aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Tobias Ebster not only was the best rookie of Dakar 2024 but also prevailed in the Original by Motul category. This category is reserved for riders who compete without technical assistance teams, receiving some support from the organization.

The German rider from Kini Rally Racing Team, riding a KTM, only did not win two stages: the fourth, where Albert Martín García (Pedrega Team/Husqvarna) set the pace, and the seventh, where Jérôme Martiny (Anquety Motorsport/Husqvarna) was the fastest.

These were the two main rivals for Ebster, who led from the prologue and quickly gained a comfortable lead. In the end, he beaten Martiny by 2h05m22s, with García in third at 6h04m17s.

David Pabiska (SP Moto Bohemia/KTM) finished fourth, with Juan Puga (JP1 Kews Dakar Rally Team/KTM) in fifth ahead of Gioele Meoni (Dakar 4 Dakar/KTM) – the son of two-time Dakar winner Fabrizio Meoni.

Final top ten of Original by Motul:

O conteúdo Tobias Ebster was the winner of Dakar in Original by Motul aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Until 2022, Xavier de Soultrait was one of the prominent riders in rally-raid and Dakar on motorcycles. He won a stage in Dakar, even achieved a top-ten overall finish, and was a factory Yamaha rider. Last year, after a spinal injury, he switched to four wheels in SSV, and this year, he clinched his first victory.

The Frenchman competed in a Polaris for Sébastien Loeb Racing Bardahl Team, with Martin Bonnet as his navigator. In a highly competitive SSV category in this Dakar, de Soultrait emerged as the winner with just a 2m25s lead over Jérôme de Sadeleer (MMP/Can-Am).

Despite the narrow margin of victory, de Soultrait led the standings continuously from the seventh stage. Before that, he had only been at the top after winning the Prologue. He also set the pace in stages 5 and 6, relying on consistency to secure the title.

O conteúdo Do you remember Xavier de Soultrait? He won the Dakar for the first time… in SSV aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Mário Patrão competed in Dakar 2024 in the Veteran Trophy category and was clearly the strongest, leading from early on and winning with almost six hours of advantage.

The Portuguese rider, on a Honda from Crédito Agrícola / mariopatrao.com, only did not win two stages among the veterans: David McBride (Vendetta Racing UAE/Husqvarna) set the pace in the prologue, and David Pabiska (SP Moto Bohemia/KTM) prevailed in the fourth stage.

Apart from that, Patrão was the winner on all other days and secured the Veteran Trophy with a 5h58m43s margin over Pabiska. McBride finished third, followed by Zhang Min (Zero Mileage Rally Team/KTM). Bartolomiej Tabin (Orion Moto Racing Group/Husqvarna) rounded out the top five, even though he is a rookie in Dakar, he falls under the Veterans category due to his experience in motorcycling, which is not a unique case.

Final top ten of the Veteran Trophy:

O conteúdo Mário Patrão dominated the Dakar in the Veterans category aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Dakar 2024 has come to an end, and Tobias Ebster has confirmed himself as the best rookie of this edition. The rider led the Rookie Challenge from the first stage, after Dusan Drdaj (Orion Moto Racing Group/KTM) showed more strength in the prologue.

Riding a KTM from the Kini Rally Racing Team, Ebster had Drdaj as his main rival until the sixth stage when the Czech rider dropped out of contention. From then on, the German rider had over an hour’s advantage over Jeremy Miroir (Fantic Racing).

The Frenchman even won the seventh stage, but a day later, he fell behind, and until the end, it was Santos (XRaids Experience/Husqvarna) chasing Ebster. However, he was already more than two hours away. The Portuguese rider had a consistent performance, even winning the eighth stage among the rookies.

However, Ebster managed his lead well, increased it, and finished with a 2h55m16s advantage over Santos in the final rookie standings – ranking 20th overall. Miroir closed the podium, trailing by 4h35m39s.

Final top ten of rookies:

O conteúdo Tobias Ebster, a name to remember for the future, was the best rookie of Dakar 2024 aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

This Friday, Dakar 2024 came to an end with the 12th stage. It was the decisive day of the race, once again held in Saudi Arabia, featuring a prologue and 12 stages (one of them spread over two days).

Kevin Benavides (Red Bull KTM) set the best time of the day, surpassing teammate Toby Price by exactly one minute on one of the best days for the Austrian manufacturer in this edition.

However, the seventh time was more than enough for Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy Honda) to secure his second career title. He surpassed Ross Branch (Hero MotoSports) by 10m53s.

You can watch the best moments of the stage in the video below.

O conteúdo Video: The best of Stage 12 of Dakar 2024 aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.