Australian Toby Price has taken out the 2018 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship in Morocco after a victory in the Rally du Maroc finale promoted him to the top of the standings.

A victor of the prestigious Dakar Rally, this latest achievement marks the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider’s first world title, which the popular Queenslander admits came as a surprise.

“What an amazing season – I can’t believe it,” Price expressed. “It’s been a tough one and I didn’t expect to be at the top of the list at the end of it. I had some bad luck back in Abu Dhabi at the beginning of the year, but after that every rally has gone well and I’ve finished on the podium at every round.

“To win the world championship with a win here in Morocco makes it all that little bit sweeter. If I am honest, I was nervous out there on the final stage today, there are no guarantees in rally racing, especially when I had to lead the stage out. This is my first world championship in any category so I am so, so happy.

“It’s all credit to my team and everyone at Red Bull KTM, without them behind me I wouldn’t be standing on the top step. I’m standing on the top of the world and it’s the best feeling ever.”

Winning two of the five stages of the Rally du Maroc, Price secured the overall win ahead of his teammate Mathias Walkner with a comfortable margin of over seven minutes. With his nearest title rival Pablo Quintanilla (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) finishing in fourth place overall, Toby leapfrogged the Chilean rider in the standings to claim the championship by a six-point margin.

The newly-crowned world champion will now shift his attention to claiming a second Dakar crown, which is scheduled to kick off on 6 January 2019 in Peru.