KTM Desert Racing Team’s Toby Price topped the bike Prologue today in his return to the Tatts Finke Desert Race.

Price, who has won the Australian classic desert race on two occasions (2010 and 2012) was a non-starter last year as a result of serious injury when he broke three bones in his neck while practicing for the Baja 500 in the USA.

His time today aboard the number 299 KTM 500 EXC was 5m14s, two seconds ahead of teammate Ivan Long and local Alice Springs ace Daymon Stokie (Honda) in second and third respectively. Long finished fifth outright in last year’s event, while Stokie was sixth home in the race in 2012.

Fourth and fifth spots in prologue went to another home rider, David Walsh (Honda), and Bathurst’s Ben Grabham on the third of the factory KTMs. Both completed the course in a time of 5m18s.

Last year’s bike winner Todd Smith (Honda) prologued in sixth position, while his brother Jacob (Honda), who was on the podium in second position in 2013, was 10th.

A total of 418 riders took part in today’s prologue. Tomorrow’s race for bikes commences at 12:00pm for leg one of the event that takes the field 226 kilometres from the Alice Springs start to the overnight stop at Finke, before returning to Alice Springs on Monday.