Audi RX assault

Mattias Ekström flew high in 2017 – literally. His Audi S1 EKS RX quattro rallycross car spent a significant amount of time in the air, as well as sideways as he dominated and ultimately won the 2016 FIA Rallycross Championship (RX). Now in 2017, Audi Sport will provide factory support to the champion driver, who is also well known for his extraordinary career as a DTM driver for Audi.

As part of the brand’s motorsport realignment, Audi Sport will throw its support behind Ekström’s EKS rallycross team in 2017 with a view to ongoing support in the future, in this spectacular form of motorsport. This new motorsport direction for the brand will be in addition to its ongoing support of Formula E racing and the DTM (German Touring Car Masters) series.

Ekström’s efforts in the RX series has been nothing but spectacular to date, forming his privateer team in 2014 and leading from the front to secure a world drivers’ championship and teams’ championship in just three years. 

“We laid a lot of groundwork as a team in the first three years, gathered important experiences and set new standards with EKS,” he said of the early days of the team. “But it was also clear to us that we’d need support for the future in order to be able to continue on this level. That EKS is now receiving factory backing by Audi makes me very happy. I’m convinced that rallycross has a great future, also with respect to potential electrification.” 

Certainly, competition is fierce in this ‘all out’ motorsport, with strong competition from the likes of Ford, Peugeot, Volkswagen as well as numerous privateer outfits. 

“We realise that it’s going to be increasingly difficult for EKS to hold its own against the factory teams, so we chose to intensify our World RX commitment,” says Head of Audi Motorsport Dieter Gass.

In addition to access to Audi Sport suppliers and partners as before, the new arrangement will see Ekström’s team receive further technical development of the all-wheel driven Audi S1 EKS RX quattro through Audi motorsport.
As well as his factory-backed involvement in the FIA World Rallycross Championship, Mattias Ekström will continue in his role as an Audi DTM driver in 2017 as well – no rest for the driven!