Audi: With Dream Team to the Dakar Rally đ„
COLLECTED EXPERIENCE Audi is aiming to be the first manufacturer to win the Dakar Rally with an electric racing vehicle. The Germans have succeeded in recruiting three illustrious driver teams for the ambitious project. A brief look at Audi's rally history. This will be continued in 2022 with the still shrouded E prototype. The three driver duos Mattias Ekström/Emil Bergkvist, Stéphane Peterhansel/Edouard [...]
A brief look at Audi's rally history. This will be continued in 2022 with the still shrouded E prototype.
The three driver duos Mattias Ekström/Emil Bergkvist, Stéphane Peterhansel/Edouard Boulanger and Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz will compete for Audi in the world's toughest rally from January 2 to 14, 2022.
Known qualities
The Swede is an "Audi veteran", the Frenchman and the Spaniard most recently drove and won in the likewise German team X-Raid on Mini Buggies. This is headed by Sven Quandt, who will manage the Dakar events with the company Q Motorsport in cooperation with Audi Sport.
Sven Quandt: "Teamwork and reliability are crucial in the Dakar. You need a well-coordinated team, a super-reliable car and reliable driver teams. You can't drive permanently at the limit in the Dakar. The right strategy is crucial. I'm very happy that we'll have three such strong teams at the start whose qualities we know very well."
A dream team
The Managing Director of Audi Sport GmbH, who is also responsible for motorsport, speaks without exaggeration of a dream team.
Julius Seebach: "Stéphane is the most successful Dakar driver of all time, Carlos is a multiple Dakar winner and World Rally Champion. With Mattias we've already celebrated major Audi successes in the past, he's one of the most versatile drivers in the world. In addition to a lot of speed, they all bring a lot of know-how and motivation to our team. The same applies to their co-drivers who play an increasingly important role in the Dakar Rally."
Under the Sign of the Four Rings
Mattias Ekström (42) has spent almost his entire career under the sign of the four rings, particularly in the DTM, where he won the title twice with Audi (2004 and 2007). The Swede underlined his versatility by winning the 2016 World Rallycross Championship and starts in the World Rally Championship.
This year he is competing for the ABT Cupra team in the new electric off-road series Extreme E. Earlier this year he made his debut in the Dakar Rally.
Two legendary desert foxes
Stéphane Peterhansel (55) is "Mister Dakar" and a living legend in his sport. The Frenchman, who lives in French-speaking Switzerland, has won the world's toughest cross-country rally 14 times - six times on a motorcycle, eight times in the car category, most recently last January in Saudi Arabia.
Carlos Sainz (59) is also a living legend. The Spaniard was twice World Rally Champion (1990, 1992) and has celebrated three Dakar Rally victories to date: in 2010 and 2018 in South America and in 2020 at the premiere in Saudi Arabia. He is also competing this year in Extreme-E on an electric racing buggy.
Ringing in the energy turnaround
For Andreas Roos, who is responsible for factory motorsport commitments at Audi Sport, it is reassuring to have three driver teams at the very highest level.
Andreas Roos: "The drivers and co-drivers make the difference at the Dakar Rally in the end. We can put a tick behind this point. Now it's up to us to work with them to complete the development of our innovative car and usher in the energy revolution in cross-country rallying in January."
