Audi RS Q e-tron, Lucas Cruz, Carlos Sainz

Audi RS Q e-tron, pictured above: This vehicle shown here is the Rally Dakar vehicle that is not available as a production model.

Audi RS Q e-tron, pictured above: This vehicle shown here is the Rally Dakar vehicle that is not available as a production model.

01/19/2024 Reading Time: 3 min

Dakar Rally: Historic victory for Audi

Audi makes history: for the first time, a low-emission prototype with an electric drive², high-voltage battery and energy converter² wins one of the toughest desert rallys with the Audi RS Q e-tron¹. The Spaniards Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz secured Audi’s first victory in the Dakar Rally after around 7,900 kilometers with a lead of 80 minutes.

 

¹This vehicle mentioned 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.

¹This vehicle mentioned 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

Audi RS Q e-tron, pictured above in the image/video: This 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, pictured above in the image/video: 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

Audi RS Q e-tron

Sainz/ Cruz achieve fourth personal victory

Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz have been in the lead without interruption since the sixth stage. For the two Spaniards, who finished first in 2010, 2018 and 2020, this is their fourth success with a different brand, including the second from the Volkswagen Group. However, two-time World Rally Champion Sainz and his experienced co-driver could not be sure until shortly before the end. With Sébastien Loeb/Fabian Lurquin from Team BRX, they had strong pursuers who continued to close the gap until their car suffered damage on the penultimate day.

 

Audi RS Q e-tron, pictured above: This 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, pictured right: This vehicle shown here is the Rally Dakar vehicle that is not available as a production model. Closed course, professional driver. Do not attempt.

Rolf Michl, Carlos Sainz

“Wonderful team”

“That was an overwhelming team performance,” said Head of Audi Motorsport Rolf Michl. “Everyone pulled together to make this historic result possible for Audi. A big thank you to this wonderful team. Today we have written a new chapter for Audi, but also in the history of the Dakar Rally.”

 

“Congratulations to Team Audi Sport on winning the Dakar Rally,” said Gernot Döllner, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG. “Audi has once again set a milestone in motorsport. Winning the world’s toughest desert rally with an electrified drive² is a visible ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ and points the way to our electric future.”

²The Audi RS Q e-tron combines an electric drivetrain with an energy converter system based on the TFSI engine and a generator.

²The Audi RS Q e-tron combines an electric drivetrain with an energy converter system based on the TFSI engine and a generator.

Audi RS Q e-tron

Audi RS Q e-tron, pictured above: This 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, pictured above: This vehicle shown here is the Rally Dakar vehicle that is not available as a production model. Closed course, professional driver. Do not attempt.

7,883 kilometres through the desert

At the Dakar Rally, Audi was up against the two brands Toyota and Ford as well as the experienced opponents from Prodrive, who proved to be tough challengers. Daily stages of often more than 400 kilometers, two marathon stages with limited or even no service, as well as 4,600 timed kilometres and 7,883 kilometres in total characterized the 2024 Dakar Rally. Sharp scree and gravel roads, but also towering chains of dunes and often difficult navigation demanded everything from the teams. Carlos Sainz, who at 61 looks back on a rally career spanning around four decades, recorded a total of eight days in the lead with Lucas Cruz on the twelve stages.

Stéphane Peterhansel, Mattias Ekström, Carlos Sainz

Stage wins for Ekström and Peterhansel

The two other Audi crews had also put in a strong performance early on. The Swedes Mattias Ekström/Emil Bergkvist won the prologue at the beginning and improved to second place behind Sainz/Cruz by the rest day. However, a defect on the rear axle cost them all their chances. Ekström/Bergkvist finished the event in the top 50. Stéphane Peterhansel, record holder with 14 Dakar victories, was in sixth place shortly before the halfway point after his 50th stage win in the car and his 83rd overall. A defect in the hydraulic system threw him and his copilot Edouard Boulanger back to 22nd place on the sixth stage.

Audi RS Q e-tron

Strong strategy

Both teams then put themselves at the service of Team Audi Sport. Head of Audi Motorsport Rolf Michl and Sven Quandt, Team Principal of the entry partner Q Motorsport, implemented a perfect strategy. Whether it was tactically dropping back before the second marathon stage to avoid having to open the route or supporting the leaders Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz, the management was able to rely on its strong driver crews at all times. The team personnel also worked tirelessly and reliably during the physically demanding, long and tough rally.

Audi RS Q e-tron, pictured above: This vehicle shown here is the Rally Dakar vehicle that is not available as a production model.

Audi RS Q e-tron, pictured right: This vehicle shown here is the Rally Dakar vehicle that is not available as a production model.

Dakar Rally: Results documents to download

Prologue results

12 pages

PDF

311.6 KB

Stage 1 results

12 pages

PDF

264.1 KB

Stage 2 results

12 pages

PDF

390.3 KB

Stage 3 results

12 pages

PDF

262.7 KB

Stage 4 results

12 pages

PDF

245.4 KB

Stage 5 results

12 pages

PDF

208.0 KB

Stage 6 results

11 pages

PDF

241.3 KB

Stage 7 results

11 pages

PDF

240.7 KB

Stage 8 results

10 pages

PDF

283.6 KB

Stage 9 results

10 pages

PDF

291.7 KB

Stage 10 results

10 pages

PDF

237.3 KB

Stage 11 results

10 pages

PDF

237.5 KB

Stage 12 results

8 pages

PDF

248.1 KB

Final overall classification Dakar Rally 2024

12 pages

PDF

244.5 KB

Dakar
Rally

Team Audi Sport
Audi RS Q e-tron
Audi RS Q e-tron

Audi RS Q e-tron pictured in the images above: This vehicle 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 pictured in the images above: This vehicle is the Rally Dakar vehicle that is not available as a production model. Closed course, professional driver. Do not attempt.

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