Team Audi Sport remains motivated for second half of Dakar Rally

For Team Audi Sport, the first half of the 2023 Dakar Rally was an emotionally intense mix: Two stage victories and the Audi RS Q e-tron’s first three days in the lead at the world’s toughest rally were offset by setbacks for all three driver teams. Mattias Ekström/Emil Bergkvist were leading in Saudi Arabia after the prologue, Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz on the two following days. However, different damage on the hard stages threw them far back. Stéphane Peterhansel/Edouard Boulanger were in second place after the fourth special stage but dropped out two days later due to an accident.

• Strong contrast of competitiveness and severe disappointments
• High motivation in the team despite setbacks for all driver teams
• Tough second half of rally expected after rest day

The 2023 Dakar Rally surprised the participants with great hardship and caused a lot of turbulence in the classification. Stony tracks after the prologue led to 14 punctures on four consecutive legs starting on New Year’s Day in Team Audi Sport, spread across all three Audi RS Q e-tron cars. Sections with camel grass imposed heavy compressions and thus high loads on the rally cars and their crews on the fifth stage. And finally, rain not only caused unexpectedly hard sand but forced a route change. Due to a flooded bivouac site, the organizers inserted a half-marathon stage with a modified route and limited service before the rest day on January 9.

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