In the 8th stage, the Australian Toby Price drove 800 km on Monday with a notched tire, repaired with adhesive tape and clamps.
The unfortunate Toby Price was forced to abandon the Dakar this Tuesday after being the victim of a violent fall in the 9e step. Suffering from a head trauma, the Australian was taken to hospital in Tabuk. Winner of the event in 2019 and second in the general classification before the start of the special in the morning, the driver had demonstrated his impressive handyman skills the day before to cover 800 km with a badly cut rear wheel.
Dakar regulations, which are stricter this year, force competitors to use a maximum of six rear tires over the two weeks of the race. Price could not change tires or face a thirty minute penalty, which would have wiped out his chances of victory. It was therefore necessary to do with the rudimentary means at hand.
A cutter, duct tape and cable ties
A little brain juice, a cutter, duct tape and hose clamps were all it took to patch up the wheel that had been nicked several inches deep. This is how this “acGyver” of the caravan was able to reach the bivouac, without exploding his tire on the rocky track. “I’m surprised he held on to the finish line, but that shows the quality of these tires. He did 800 kilometers like that, it’s remarkable. We lost a minute more, but in these circumstances, we are quite satisfied, ”said the Antipodes rider, who did not expect to be disillusioned on the tracks the day after such a feat.
