The team: Q Motorsport

Audi will compete in the Dakar Rally for the second time with an innovative prototype in 2023. The race in the world’s toughest rally raid event will again be carried out in cooperation with Q Motorsport GmbH based in Trebur (Germany).

“Given the rules in this sport, we’re happy to have such an experienced partner as Sven Quandt in the team,” says Head of Audi Motorsport Rolf Michl. “He brings decades of rally knowledge to the table as Team Principal of Q Motorsport, making him an important point of reference and experience. When it comes to race strategy, he knows how to make the best use of the strengths of our technical concept and our drivers. Everyone in the team is a thoroughbred motorsport enthusiast, as are the experienced car chiefs. They have a connection with the drivers, which is important to me because it’s not just about the technology. I particularly appreciate the commitment of our mechanics in this new project – together with their colleagues from Q Motorsport, they have to keep a highly complex vehicle at its best operational level under the toughest conditions, which is really challenging, especially when there’s damage.”

Q Motorsport GmbH was founded by Sven Quandt and his two sons Thomas and Tobias Quandt. As a driver, Sven Quandt won the T1 Marathon Cup in 1998. In the same year, his team GECO Raid celebrated a 1-2-3 victory in the T1 classification of the Paris–Dakar Rally. From November 2002 to the end of 2004, Quandt was the head of motorsport at Mitsubishi Motors. At the same time, he began to build up the X-raid Team, which has celebrated six victories in the Dakar Rally and also won the FIA World Cup for cross-country rallies eleven times.

“With Q Motorsport, we are breaking new ground in rally raid motorsport independently of and parallel to the X-raid Team,” says Sven Quandt. “The world is changing and the Dakar Rally must also prove that it can be sustainable and continue to point the way forward. This is exactly what Q Motorsport wants to demonstrate together with Audi.”

“Audi has always chosen new, bold paths in racing, but I think this is one of the most complex cars that I have ever seen,” says Quandt. For the team boss, the Dakar Rally is one of the biggest challenges there are in motorsport – and it is the best test for technologies that are suitable for everyday use. “You have all of the things that also matter in a production vehicle: different terrains, tough conditions, high and low temperatures, rain, sun and many kilometres driven per day. The Dakar is the best test: if the technology can survive the Dakar, it will be successful everywhere.”

Audi Sport has brought a lot of expertise from circuit racing and Le Mans to the partnership with Q Motorsport. “In some areas, the Audi RS Q e-tron is more a car for circuit racing,” says Quandt. “The question is: what can you bring from circuit racing into a rally raid car? What is the best compromise? We are both learning from each other.”

After just one year, the entire team has learned a lot. “We’re approaching the Dakar Rally very differently this time than we did twelve months ago,” says Sven Quandt, illustrating the progress made. “A year ago we had to fly our cars to the rally, this time they are ready two weeks before we set sail. Going to the Dakar is now a normal procedure for everyone.”

However, the team boss believes it would be wrong to infer from this that the rally is a predictable task. “Of course, the goal remains a victory. But there is never a guarantee of such success, because too much depends on circumstances,” he says. “Navigation plays a role. Little things can hold us back, but the length of the stages also has an effect. If they are very long, we would have to reduce power to get to the day’s finish. That’s why I would already be very proud of a result in the top three, as no one has ever achieved this with a low-emission car.”

Sven Quandt knows what’s in store for the team in 2023 and sets his expectations accordingly: “This year we have more sand stages, which should help us a bit. However, this time the Dakar won’t just last two weeks, but almost three weeks with all the trimmings, which is quite a long time. The big unknown remains our competitors. No one has revealed their performance yet. So are we just good or really competitive? We won’t know for at least two or three days, maybe not until the fourth day.”