Toby Price‘s Rallye du Maroc was going according to plan early on, running third overall in the RallyGP class entering Stage #4. Then he found himself in the air.
After eighty-five kilometres of following the leaders, Price crashed out when he got caught in dust and hit an unidentified object, presumably a rock. The contact deployed his airbag, sent him into the air, and caused him to land on the ground with hits to the head.
According to a G-force reading he posted on Tuesday, his helmet impacted the ground twice. The second hit racked up as much as 25.6 g’s of force before he settled on the ground. He was later airlifted to hospital and treated for a right wrist injury and bruising to his forehead.
“Not much to say other then I really [fucked] up,” said Price on Instagram after his accident. “Made a mistake early and lost 3 minutes on time, so was in some dust and moved out to see better but went back into some dust and not 100% sure what I hit but was on the ground after this. Big thanks to Bell Helmets for keeping my head safe but sure pissed I wrecked a new helmet and Alpinestars for the protection. Was seeing some stars but was back on the bike and at the refuel I was sore in my neck with bruise on my forehead and both wrists/hands.. when they seen my helmet I couldn’t continue with a split it had in it and wanted to check me out. So helicopter ride out and all checks come back fine luckily. Just feel I’m still in the clouds a little.”
He continued treatment over the week with Dr. Steve Andrews, an orthopaedic surgeon at Brisbane Private Hospital who oversees shoulder, elbow, and hand surgery. Andrews frequently treats treats racers with injuries in said region like Price, such as needing right scaphoid surgery after crashing in a post-2019 Dakar Rally training accident.
On Tuesday, he had more work done on his right wrist and was cleared of other injuries. Fellow Australian rally rider Daniel Sanders also stopped by during the day for treatment on his left elbow, which he broke in a crash at this year’s Dakar Rally and forced him to miss the Rallye du Maroc.
“Well all fixed up, had to repair some stuff in my right wrist (hard to give a thumbs up lol) but happy to be ready for more. Can see why my head was sore with 2 good hits to the head and max of 25g but checks were good on the neck so happy days,” wrote Price.
Price is not entered for the next and final World Rally-Raid Championship round in Andalucía on 18–23 October. The Finke Desert Race winner’s main priority will be the Baja 1000 on 15–20 November.
