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Added on the 16/12/2021 06:38:21 - Copyright : Auto Moto EN
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.”
Team Audi Sport received a warm welcome in its home country after winning the Dakar Rally. At the Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm sites, the winners Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz and their teammates Emil Bergkvist and Stéphane Peterhansel/Edouard Boulanger appeared before the workforce. The Board of Management of AUDI AG also welcomed the successful motorsport drivers, who drove their electrically powered off-road prototypes around the two factory sites and signed numerous autographs.
Audi Q8 e-tron edition Dakar - Interview Carlos Sainz, Audi Factory Driver
The Audi brand has always been something very special for “El Matador”. “The Audi quattro changed the World Rally Championship forever,” says Sainz. “Now we are trying something similar at the Dakar Rally. The engineers have much more freedom in the Dakar Rally than in other racing series. I have full confidence in the Audi brand. When I joined Audi, I said don’t underestimate the Dakar. And they didn’t. They trusted the direction we wanted to take the project. And that is now the success. We had a very successful first year thanks to the technology. It was the right approach by both parties.”
The Ferrari SF-24 was launched in front of a small audience of guests today, while the rest of the world watched online. It is the 70th car the company has built to take part in the Formula 1 World Championship. Attending the presentation at the Fiorano track were President John Elkann, CEO Benedetto Vigna and Vice-President Piero Ferrari, along with representatives of the partners, as well as team members, starting with Team Principal Fred Vasseur and the drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. The busiest season ever, with no fewer than 24 races, gets underway next week in Bahrain with the only pre-season three-day test session, followed by the first grand prix at the same venue, on Saturday 2 March.The SF-24 is the third car of the new Formula 1 ground effect generation, but it breaks with the tradition of the past two years, starting with the look of it. The design group, led by Enrico Cardile, aimed to give Charles and Carlos a car that is easy to drive and that reacts predictably, with as a starting point, the positive feeling the drivers had in the cockpit over the final few races of last season. The goal is to allow them to make the most of the power unit’s potential, combined with their undoubted skill behind the wheel.
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