Audi RS Q e-tron

This vehicle shown here is the Rally Dakar vehicle that is not available as a production model. Closed course, professional driver. Do not attempt.

¹This vehicle shown here is the Rally Dakar vehicle that is not available as a production model. Closed course, professional driver. Do not attempt.

01/15/2023 Reading Time: 1 min

Good individual results and setbacks

The effort paid off: Team Audi Sport shaped the 2023 Dakar Rally with innovation and performance right up to the end despite various setbacks. The Audi RS Q e-tron¹ with its electric drive concept² scored a total of 14 podium results on 15 event days including the prologue. In addition, the Audi drivers led the rally for three days for the first time. However, a series of punctures, the accident-related retirements of Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz and Stéphane Peterhansel/Edouard Boulanger as well as a massive loss of time for Mattias Ekström/Emil Bergkvist prevented a better result than 14th place.

¹Bei diesem Fahrzeug handelt es sich um das Rallye-Dakar-Rennfahrzeug, dieses wird nicht zum Kauf angeboten.
²Der Audi RS Q e-tron kombiniert einen elektrischen Antriebsstrang mit einem Energiewandler-System aus TFSI-Motor und Generator.

¹This vehicle shown here is the Rally Dakar vehicle that is not available as a production model.
²The Audi RS Q e-tron combines an electric drivetrain with an energy converter system based on the TFSI engine and a generator.

Highlight film

This vehicle shown here is the Rally Dakar vehicle that is not available as a production model. Closed course, professional driver. Do not attempt.

This vehicle shown here is the Rally Dakar vehicle that is not available as a production model. Closed course, professional driver. Do not attempt.

Daily Inside Dakar Show

Mattias Ekström, Rolf Michl, Oliver Hoffmann

“We’ll be back in 2024”

Oliver Hoffmann, Board Member for Technical Development at Audi, visited the motorsport team in Saudi Arabia and recognized many achievements: “The pace of our innovative Audi RS Q e-tron¹ was good right from the start and also showed at the end. Unfortunately, we also had bad luck in the desert and many punctures. Despite the setbacks, the team celebrated a finish thanks to strong performances. We will now analyze all areas. A podium was our goal. It remains so, because we will definitely compete again in 2024.”

After the second outing at the Dakar Rally Rolf Michl, Head of Motorsport at Audi, drew a mixed conclusion: “We experienced all the highs and lows at this edition of the Dakar Rally. The top results in the daily classifications show that we are among the fastest with our innovative RS Q e-tron¹. And with a car that produces the lowest emissions. However, from tyre and chassis damage when encountering obstacles on the rough tracks to the accidents, we have also experienced many disappointments. Now we are thoroughly working through all aspects.”

¹This vehicle shown here is the Rally Dakar vehicle that is not available as a production model.

¹This vehicle shown here is the Rally Dakar vehicle that is not available as a production model.

Audi RS Q e-tron

Audi in the lead

Mattias Ekström/Emil Bergkvist led the world’s toughest desert rally after the prologue, their teammates Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz on the two following days. However, a series of 14 punctures on the first four desert stages, spread across all three driver teams, cost Audi valuable time. Further setbacks followed when Carlos Sainz damaged his suspension in the scree of the third stage and in an accident on the sixth stage. Similarly, a stone invisible in the desert dust destroyed a suspension on Mattias Ekström’s car on the seventh stage.

¹This vehicle shown here is the Rally Dakar vehicle that is not available as a production model. Closed course, professional driver. Do not attempt.

¹This vehicle shown here is the Rally Dakar vehicle that is not available as a production model. Closed course, professional driver. Do not attempt.

Audi RS Q e-tron

¹This vehicle shown here is the Rally Dakar vehicle that is not available as a production model. Closed course, professional driver. Do not attempt.

¹This vehicle shown here is the Rally Dakar vehicle that is not available as a production model. Closed course, professional driver. Do not attempt.

Sainz and Peterhansel out

The 14-time Dakar winner Stéphane Peterhansel was no longer in the race at this point. After jumping off a dune, his car landed so hard that co-driver Edouard Boulanger was taken to hospital with back pain. The diagnosed vertebral injury was subsequently treated by specialists in Germany. “Three stage results in the top three showed what was possible,” says Stéphane Peterhansel. The day before their retirement, the French driver pairing was still in a promising position in second place overall.
 

With Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz, a second Audi driver duo followed just behind in fourth place. “But then it seemed that nothing was going in our favor this year,” Carlos Sainz summed up. “The entire team was well prepared but two accidents prevented our finish. That’s how motorsport can be sometimes, unfortunately.” Five times the Spaniard and his co-driver Lucas Cruz finished among the top three in the stage results until their retirement.

Audi RS Q e-tron

Ekström and Bergkvist strong

All hopes therefore rested on Mattias Ekström/Emil Bergkvist. The Swedes, who are contesting only their third Dakar Rally, once again mastered the demanding competition with more than 4,200 special stage kilometers and almost 8,900 kilometers in total as the best Audi team. “It was a tough rally: we never gave up even after the high time losses,” said two-time DTM Champion and World Rallycross Champion Ekström.
 

In the demanding sand dunes in the Empty Quarter, Ekström/Bergkvist even achieved third and second place of the day on the marathon stage without evening service on January 12 and 13. In total, they were among the top three in the stage rankings six times during the 2023 Dakar Rally. Almost seven hours behind after repairs to their own car, but also their help for their teammate Sainz, meant 14th place overall in the end.

¹This vehicle shown here is the Rally Dakar vehicle that is not available as a production model. Closed course, professional driver. Do not attempt.

¹This vehicle shown here is the Rally Dakar vehicle that is not available as a production model. Closed course, professional driver. Do not attempt.

Dakar Rally: Results documents to download

Prologue results

12 pages, EN

PDF

212.0 KB

Stage 1 results

12 pages

PDF

194.7 KB

Stage 2 results

12 pages

PDF

4.0 MB

Stage 3 results

12 pages

PDF

4.0 MB

Stage 4 results

12 pages

PDF

2.8 MB

Stage 5 results

12 pages

PDF

183.4 KB

Stage 6 results

11 pages

PDF

180.3 KB

Stage 7 results

11 pages

PDF

186.6 KB

Stage 8 results

11 pages

PDF

185.9 KB

Stage 9 results

11 pages

PDF

186.2 KB

Stage 10 results

11 pages

PDF

185.1 KB

Stage 11 results

10 pages

PDF

182.1 KB

Stage 12 results

10 pages

PDF

181.4 KB

Stage 13 resutls

10 pages

PDF

183.8 KB

Stage 14 results

8 pages

PDF

176.2 KB

Overall results

12 pages

PDF

190.8 KB

Dakar
Rally

Podium Rallye Dakar
Stéphane Peterhansel, Edouard Boulanger
Audi RS Q e-tron

This vehicle shown here is the Rally Dakar vehicle that is not available as a production model. Closed course, professional driver. Do not attempt.

This vehicle shown here is the Rally Dakar vehicle that is not available as a production model. Closed course, professional driver. Do not attempt.

You might also be interested in

Close

Audi worldwide

Models, products and services – switch to your country / sales region website and discover the regional diversity of Audi.

    Close

    Close

    You are using an unsupported browser to access this website. To get the best User-Experience while visiting the website, please use the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Edge.

    Thank you very much for your visit.
    Your Audi Team

    The international Audi website

    Discover Audi as a brand, company and employer on our international website. Experience our vision of mobility and let yourself be inspired.

    Audi of America: models, products and services

    Explore the full lineup of SUVs, sedans, e-tron models & more. Build your own, search inventory and explore current special offers.

    Switch to audiusa.com

    Error report

    The feedback form is currently unavailable.
    Please try again later.

    You may deactivate your ad blocker to view the feedback form.