Audi driver Ekström starts in the WRC
- Swede contests the OMV ADAC Rally in Germany
- ‘Wild card’ outing in Red Bull Skoda Team
- DTM remains priority for Audi factory driver
Audi factory driver Mattias Ekström competes once again in the World Rally Championship (WRC): Between the two DTM races at the Norisring (23 July) and at the Nürburgring (20 August), the DTM driver will make his debut in the OMV ADAC Rally (10 to 23 August). The Swede, who scored his first win of the season last weekend at Brands Hatch at the wheel of his Red Bull Audi A4 DTM, received the go-ahead from Audi Sport to compete in the German World Rally Championship round.
The 2004 DTM Champion is considered as one of the world’s top touring car drivers. The Audi factory driver has repeatedly proven that he is also a talented rally driver: In 2004, Ekström won the Group N class at both the Swedish Rally and the Rally Catalunya. In 2005 and 2006, the rally experts sat up and took notice following his impressive performances at the wheel of the Skoda Fabia WRC during the World Championship rounds in Sweden.
Ekström starts once again for the Red Bull Skoda Team in the OMV ADAC Rally – and therefore in the same colours as in the DTM. “The DTM with Audi still remains the number one priority,” stresses the Swede, who is contracted to Audi till 2008. “I’m extremely grateful to Audi for giving me the opportunity to compete sporadically in rallies at the highest-level and in parallel to the DTM. I think that I can only benefit from such an experience and develop my skills as s driver even further.”