'No bigger name': Racing icon to attend prestigious off-track event

Australian Dakar racing champion Toby Price will attend this year's Glenmore Pony Express on 27-28 April at Grassmere in a major draw card for racers, spectators and fans.

Price, 36, is a two-time winner of the world-famous Dakar Rally, taking out the iconic event's bike class in 2016 and 2019.

"It's great to be attending the Glenmore Pony Express this year as a special guest and I encourage everyone to come along for what is set to be a big two days in Grassmere," Price said.

The annual Glenmore event, which was postponed to late April due to extreme heat in March, will include a senior prologue on the Saturday morning followed by the hill climb in the afternoon with Sunday marking the four-hour endurance race around the 15-kilometre track.

Juniors will then complete a nine-kilometre loop for two separate endurance races on both Saturday and Sunday and the vintage and adventure bike one-hour endurance will kick off at 2.30pm on Saturday.

There will be a strong entry list of some of Australia's best endurance racers for a total prize pool of more than $15,000, with professional off-road racer Andy Wilksch among the entrants.

Warrnambool Motor Cycle Club president John Maher, who is part of the organising committee, said it was brilliant to have Price locked in.

"There's a lot of talk about Toby attending, he's one of the biggest names in the off-road motorbike scene," he said.

"There's no bigger name in the industry and there's a lot of plans to start the juniors with him and with presentations and to be involved in our hill climb event.

"I'm sure there will be a lot of opportunity for kids to get a photo with him and speak to him which will be very exciting."

Maher said while it was "disappointing" to have lost the March date, it had given entrants and track staff more time to get prepared.

"Everything's all ready to go from our end, while it's disappointing we couldn't hold it in March it's probably allowed us more rain on the race track which is always good," he said.

"And it gives us time to get more entrants and for them to get bike fit."

He said there was a lot of "positive talk" about how the event stacked up from a national level and expected a strong turnout.

"We've had a lot of support the last few years, there's been podcasts and commentary on how the event is run to a national standard so we're looking to keep raising the bar," he said.