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Dakar Rally 2022 - Interview Mattias Ekström

Audi Sport took another step towards the Dakar Rally in the second week of November. At the second test in Morocco, Mattias Ekström/Emil Bergkvist, Stéphane Peterhansel/Edouard Boulanger and Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz took turns in the cockpit of the Audi RS Q e-tron.High-speed tracks, gravel roads, dune mountains, dried-out river beds: Audi’s innovative prototype for the Dakar Rally was spared nothing during its second test in Morocco. Within an extremely tight project timeframe of little more than twelve months, the team has developed the RS Q e-tron to such an extent that it can now handle daily off-road distances in testing equalling the length of a Dakar stage. Still, many challenges remain between now and January. “The entire team is focusing its energy on continuing the development under the toughest conditions,” says Arnau Niubó Bosch, Head of Test Engineering. “It was impressive how important findings flowed back to Neuburg from Morocco at a daily pace. As a result, our three rally cars currently under construction for the Dakar Rally will have the latest technical status. At the same time, logistical preparations are in full swing.”