Australian motorcycle racer Toby Price has shocked the motorcycle world with a two cent fix that saved his multimillion-dollar Dakar Rally campaign by racing with a tyre held together by cable ties.
Price destroyed a tyre on sharp rocks in the Saudi desert on stage seven of the two-week-long epic.
New rules preventing riders from receiving fresh equipment or outside assistance on “marathon” stages of the race meant the big Queenslander had to retire his KTM or bodge together a quick repair ahead of a 709 kilometre day in the dunes.
Remarkably, Price finished the day’s competition in second place to save his chance of a third Dakar title.
“I’m super surprised we’re here,” he said.
“My last zip tie was pretty much around the 200km mark.
“It’s remarkable it held together.”
Price’s sponsor, Red Bull Motorsports, said his efforts proved the adage that “there’s nothing in this world that can’t be fixed with cable ties and duct tape.”
The Australian rider is famously tough, having won the Dakar with a broken wrist in 2019.
He finished first in an early stage of this year’s race with no rear brakes.
Race fans on social media praised his ingenuity, likening him to the cult TV character “Macgyver” famous for solving complex problems with everyday objects.
Some observers said it was “so stupid and dangerous” that Price was forced to race on ruined rubber.
The Australian rider reached the end of the gruelling stage and said “we’re here, I’ll claim it”.
“I don’t want to do that again.”
