KTM Enduro Racing Team’s Toby Price isn’t giving up hope of winning the 2014 KTM Enduro-X Nationals Championship despite facing a 13-point deficit to CDR Yamaha’s Chris Hollis entering Melbourne’s final round.

In his comeback from a serious neck injury that sidelined him for much of last year, Price climbed the podium by one position at Valvoline Raceway’s second round last weekend in second overall.

It was another promising performance by the multiple-time national champion in Sydney, winning two heats before setting the fastest lap time in official qualifying on a slick, rain-affected track.

Price finished third in the first two finals of the evening aboard the 350 SX-F before finally breaking through for his first final win of the season, however the battle for traction proved costly against smaller capacity machines in the conditions.

“It’s a bit frustrating tonight,” Price said. “I got a couple of heat wins and was the fastest guy in the qualifier, but then there was a light shower and compared to my bigger bike the 250 guys seemed to get a bit more drive off the start.

“It’s frustrating because I’m putting in the hard work, but we know it’s just around the corner. It’s a little bit hard to get a championship win now, but we’ll see how the last round plays out.

“We can’t really be too bummed, we’re doing the best we can and I’m stoked with my riding, but I just don’t want to be there [not winning] anymore and I hate letting KTM down and seeing the boys disappointed. It’s frustrating because I didn’t really do too much wrong.”

Teammate Peter Boyle was fifth overall, now fourth in the standings with one round remaining at Calder Park Raceway on Sunday, 2 March.