Ekstrom edges Loeb to take opening Dakar prologue as nearly 800 brave elements
Sweden's Mattias Ekstrom drove his Audi hybrid to victory in the 13km-long prologue of the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
Mattias Ekstrom Sport News
Mattias Ekstrom edges Loeb to take opening Dakar Rally prologue
YANBU, Saudi Arabia: Sweden’s Mattias Ekstrom drove his Audi hybrid to victory in the 13km-long prologue of the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia on Saturday. Ekstrom edged out France’s nine-time World Rally champion Sebastien Loeb (BRX) by a second. “It’s always nice to start in a good way, but, of course, the day is long and the rally is even longer,” said Ekstrom.
When Jack met Mattias
The FIA ETCR eTouring Car World Cup had a special guest visitor at the season-finale in Sachsenring as Williams Racing F1 reserve driver Jack Aitken made a visit to meet then-reigning ETCR King, Mattias Ekström. Ad Jack was on site on GT Masters duties but couldn’t resist a look at the CUPRA e-Racer which proved to be so successful in 2022.
Tambay’s take after a week as FIA ETCR King
CUPRA EKS driver Adrien Tambay opens up on his King of the Season title in the FIA ETCR eTouring Car World Cup just one week into his reign. “After the first race in Pau Ville I knew that I could win if we were consistent and didn’t make any mistakes.” Ad FIA ETCRCUPRA clean sweep as it wins the 2022 FIA ETCR Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ titles28/09/2022 AT 12:27 Tambay was already leading the standings going into the final race in Sachsenring for Race DE and took his winning streak right to the finish line.
CUPRA clean sweep as it wins the 2022 FIA ETCR Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ titles
It’s been a superlative season in the FIA ETCR eTouring Car World Cup for CUPRA EKS with the squad entering the season-finale at Sachsenring with an uneatable points tally, then going on to finish the year with the top three spots in the Drivers’ standings. Ad Whilst Adrien Tambay clinches the ETCR Drivers’ title in his rookie season, last year’s PURE ETCR champion, Mattias Ekström, came home as runner-up and Tom Blomqvist finished third, having won King of the Weekend at the final race in Germany FIA ETCRHyundai Motorsport N take second in 2022 FIA ETCR standings26/09/2022 AT 13:04 Tambay led the series heading into the final round at the Sachsenring circuit in Germany for Race DE, and won his Pool Furious Quarter, Semi-Final and DHL Super Final to increase his end of season total to an unbeaten 535 points.
Once a King (of WTCR) almost a King (of ETCR) for Michelisz
Norbert Michelisz, the 2019 WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup title winner, completed the FIA ETCR eTouring Car World Cup season with a Race DE King of the Weekend podium for Hyundai Motorsport N. It was the Hyundai Veloster N ETCR-driving Hungarian’s best result of the season and was in contrast to team-mate Mikel Azcona’s Sachsenring weekend, which was beset by issues from the outset and culminated in the Spaniard losing out of his top three finish in the final title standings. Ad “It was a very solid race weekend – probably my best of the season, and it’s always nice to finish the year like this,” Michelisz said.
Blomqvist takes first FIA ETCR DHL Super Final win for King of the Weekend Crown
Tom Blomqvist’s super Sachsenring weekend came to fruition with the win in the Pool FAST DHL Super Final meaning he is unbeatable in the Race DE King of the Weekend standings. The CUPRA EKS driver secured maximum points through his heats and although this points tally can still be matched by his team-mate Adrien Tambay, a faster qualifying time for Blomqvist means he would win the tie-breaker.
FIA ETCR season-finale starts at Sachsenring
The time has come, the season is nearly over, the FIA ETCR eTouring Car World Cup has arrived in Sachsenring for the season finale and teams and drivers are ready to go! What you need to know: Ad Race DE info here FIA ETCRFIA ETCR season-finale set for epic battles in Sachsenring4 HOURS AGO Friday means practice day and all drivers have taken to the short yet undulating track whilst some amongst them were lucky enough to get some press conference action too. Scroll on to hear and read their thoughts ahead of Race DE. First order of the day was the all-important Draw, deciding who will belong to Pool FAST and Pool FURIOUS this weekend and ensuring plenty of exciting head-to-heads for Saturday and Sunday.