Toby Price isn’t just a great off-road motorcycle racer, he’s also a great guy.
That’s very clear with the support and outreach given to Price after he broke a femur while competing in Stage 4 of the Dakar Rally last week.
Even though the injury eliminated Price from the remainder of the Rally, his multitude of friends has been rallying – no pun intended – to support him and to keep his spirits up.
Friends like Australian countryman and Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo:
thinking of ya dude keep up the positive attitude you're a ledge
— Daniel Ricciardo (@danielricciardo) January 8, 2017
thanks bro, I'll get that shoey in next year 👍🏻 that's a promise
— Toby Price (@tobyprice87) January 8, 2017
Fellow rider Sam Sunderland, who led going into Stage 7 and is one of the favorites to win the Rally’s off-road motorcycle championship, also gave cheers to Price on Instagram after visiting his friend in the hospital.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPAkgMrjTUQ/
Price himself took to social media to give fans an extensive recap of how he sustained the injury and the early stages of his recovery. He even included an x-ray of his broken femur – which is broken in four places!
Here is the aftermath of my crash during the @dakar, breaking my femur into 4 pieces! Long road ahead but we'll be back. 💪🏻#Dakar2017 pic.twitter.com/NaimAURiCr
— Toby Price (@tobyprice87) January 7, 2017
Price wasn’t the only one that was hurt. So, too, was his bike:
Nice to give you guys an update on my situation and result from my surgury, find out more below 👇🏻https://t.co/djkYOUWrfL #Dakar2017 pic.twitter.com/l1FurNTXir
— Toby Price (@tobyprice87) January 9, 2017
The injury occurred during Stage 4 of the Rally between San Salvador Du Jujuy and Tupiza in Bolivia. Price has been treated since last Wednesday’s accident at La Paz Hospital, where he was airlifted to after the crash.
Here’s part of what Price wrote on his website:
“All I can remember is hitting something hard; it was in a river bed, and I’m sure as anything it would have been a rock. The last bit I remember is being face down into the ground after flying through the air and seeing the rocks go under me pretty quick. I landed and pretty much was just in a daze for a while!
“This is only a small hurdler in the road as a broken leg, so we will go again and it’ll be all good.”
One big surprise was Price’s forthcoming that a blood clot in his lung may have caused a seizure that may have led to his crash.
“I suffered a seizure which has rocked me a little bit, but the specialist is working hard to target the trigger to this and they are suspecting this was due to a blood clot in my lung.”
Plans call for Price to return to his native Australia in the coming days, where he’ll receive further treatment and begin a lengthy rehab to fix his leg.
Price realizes he has a long road ahead of him to full recovery -- but is optimistic that he can be good as new in just a few months.
“It’s going to be a long road back to 100 percent but one thing for sure is, I know I need to be back on the KTM motorcycle in four months, so I will be doing all I can to make this happen.”
Click here for Price’s full post on his website about what happened.
Follow @JerryBonkowski