KTM's Toby Price has forfeited his overall lead in the Sealine Cross Country Rally in Qatar after making the decision to withdraw from the event.
Australia’s Toby Price last night made the tough decision to withdraw from the Sealine Cross Country Rally in Qatar due to a slipped disc in his back.
The Dakar Champion was leading overall after racing 2 stages of the rally but pain and discomfort in his back and leg lead to the discovery of a slipped disc in his back which is pressing against a nerve.
The decision to withdraw will hopefully benefit Pricey in the long run as it will give him more time to recover for the next round of the 2016 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship in early June.
In a message to his fans via social media, Pricey said:
It’s never the best to pull out of races half way around the world when the team puts in so much effort, time and money… But pulling out of today’s race and event is hopefully going to be a smarter option for long term.. The team I have are the best and told me its not worth it and shows they put safety first (2nd time I’ve had to stop a race)… Blows me away that everything they do, they are still on my side and say call it quits in bad times… Can’t thank them enough for this cause otherwise I would of been pulling a helmet on and possibly making this worse… I wanna be here for a long time, not a short time… A Slipped disc is not fun..
With Pricey out, Husqvarna’s Pablo Quintanilla leads the overall after Stage 3 ahead of KTM’s Sam Sunderland and Yamaha rider Hélder Rodrigues.