On January 17, 2022, the most sophisticated and complex car in Audi's history underwent the harsh baptism of the Dakar Rally and won an excellent result. All three Audi RS Q e-tron cars made their debuts at the Dakar Rally. The convoy traveled 24,000 kilometers of vast desert, nearly three times the test mileage (8,700 kilometers). Rider Mattias Ekstr m and his navigator Emil Bergkvist finished in ninth place in Jeddah, becoming the best Audi driver in the Dakar Rally. With the advent of the era of electric mobility, Audi ushered in a new era of off-road rally.
"Audi has been a pioneer since the very beginning of the Dakar Rally," says Oliver Hoffmann, Director of Technology Research and Development at Audi Automotive AG, "with its excellent electric drivetrain, high-voltage battery and high-efficiency energy converter, the Audi RS Q e-tron's innovative drive system lives up to expectations. For more than four decades, the Audi brand has continued to innovate in motorsport, leaving a deep imprint on people's hearts, and Audi's innovative spirit has continued in the world's toughest rally race. In just over a year, Audi has developed the RS Q e-tron from scratch and onto the field. Thanks to the energy-efficient electric drive system, three racing cars compete with low-emission vehicles in the new T1 Ultimate category. The Audi prototype was also one of the first to represent a historic start to the new T1 Ultimate category and won championships in several stages.
Stéphane Peterhansel, a record holder with 14 Dakar title records, was enthusiastic, saying: "I've driven a lot of concept cars in the desert, but the Audi RS Q e-tron is brilliant above the dunes. The electric drive system has excellent torque performance and is very suitable for my driving style. He competed with his navigator, Edouard Boulanger, also from France, to win the tenth stage. So far, Stéphane Peterhansel has won 82 Dakar stage titles in his career. As last year's Dakar rally winner, Stéphane Peterhansel's early fall behind in the stage prevented him from achieving a good overall result. He hit a rock in the second stage, breaking the rim and causing corresponding damage to the suspension. After the car was repaired, he was punished for time for a timeout and dropped in qualifying. Nevertheless, he has always insisted on focusing on the team, serving the team and helping his teammates.
Thanks to Stéphane Peterhansel, Carlos Sainz was able to move up the qualifying position, especially when the shock absorbers were exchanged between stages 4 and 6. The Spanish driver set an all-time record in the third stage, led by his navigator Lucas Cruz. Carlos Sainz fought alongside the Audi RS Q e-tron on the difficult route from Al Artawiya to Al Qaisumah to win Audi's first stage title. Eight days later, he won his second stage title of the year. "The second half is especially worth mentioning. The typical Dakar circuit has complex road surfaces, harsh road conditions, mixed with off-road tracks, large and small sand dunes, and the direction is difficult to discern," said Carlos Sainz, "With the support of the team's engineering team, we have been optimizing the car settings more and more deeply during the rally, thank you very much!" The successful Spanish driver, who has won two World Rally titles and three wins in Dakar, has no chance to make it to the overall table this time despite his good personal record. As early as the next day, the accuracy of the road book led to multiple navigation errors on the field. Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz trailed by 2 hours and 22 minutes before finishing in 12th place.
In the same place, Mattias Ekstr m and navigator Emil Bergkvist also lost 1 hour and 45 minutes in their search for the right route. The two Swedish drivers are competing for the second time and for the first time in the car division. They are delighted to have made great strides in this learning opportunity. Mattias Ekstr m, a two-time German Touring Car Masters (DTM) champion and World Rally champion, said: "My teammates gave me a lot of advice. I found the rhythm, and the rhythm got better and better. Desert racing is still a big challenge for me. ”
Stéphane Peterhansel and Carlos Sainz have the advantage of years of experience in racing. "I always keep a security strategy and the attacks are not too violent." Of all the teams, the least experienced team in desert racing achieved the best results, which is a recognition and reward for their hard work. In the day-to-day competition, the Scandinavian driver rose from 23rd to 9th. With their first prize in the eighth stage and their top three finishes in two other races, they proved the steady progress they have made in this event, where experience is more important than other types of motorsport.
Audi Sports team has partnered with Q Motorsport to prepare and operate successfully. Sven Quandt's team has decades of Experience in Dakar Rally. Sven Quandt, Managing Director and Team Leader at Q Motorsport, said: "Thanks to Audi for enabling us to achieve this ambitious project, we have worked together from the very beginning and ultimately achieved remarkable results. ”
"Our team of drivers won four stages and have accumulated 14 stage podium finishes. This clearly exceeded our expectations for our first participation in the Dakar Rally," said Julius Seebach, Managing Director of Audi Sport GmbH and Head of Audi Motorsport. Thanks also to Sven Quandt and his team for their invaluable support. Carlos Sainz's historic victory in driving the Audi RS Q e-tron as early as day three was a reward for his hard work and underscored the sheer strength of the innovative concept powertrain. Audi was the first team to win the stage with an electric drive concept, which is also the result of the Audi team's outstanding performance. After making our debut at the competition, our goal is to claim the next Dakar Rally overall victory. Back in Germany, we will further evaluate and optimise our Audi RS Q e-tron car. In the future, we will continue to hone in various competitions and continue to optimize. ”