Team Audi Sport continued their Dakar 2024 preparations in Spain. Competing in Baja España Aragón, which was run in the Teruel region, the team obtained important data about the vehicles in the fight, which was out of class. Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz finished in the Audi RS Q e-tron, while Mattias Ekström/Emil Bergkvist had to leave the race after a power steering pump was damaged in a water crossing. Stéphane Peterhansel/Edouard Boulanger had to leave the race early due to a faulty sensor in the electric propulsion system.
A race suitable for Dakar conditions
Commenting on Baja España Aragón, the team's first test in race conditions after the Dakar Rally in January, Audi Motorsport President Rolf Michi said: “We chose Spain because of its conditions. We learned a lot about our new setup. Unfortunately, both Stéphane and Mattias had to leave the race for technical reasons in their cars. Of course, we are investigating the causes in detail. Carlos and Lucas finished the race with an impressive performance. This is the first important step towards Dakar 2024 for us.” he spoke
We're back in competitive mode
Q Motorsport Team Leader Sven Quandt said that it was the first joint race the team participated in after the innovations, “Our learning curve was valuable. Baja was an interesting race, although we had hoped for a different result. We learned a lot in just two days. We're back in competitive mode and experience the competition. We were able to go one step further in terms of suspension. This was very important to us. Actually, we still have a long road ahead of us, but we are moving in the right direction. The problems with the two cars are not very nice, but they are the same zamnow part of our learning curve. Rally Morocco is next. Here we want to compete with the Dakar Rally setup.” said.
We learned a lot from the race
Saying that the race was extremely productive for the whole team, Carlos Sainz said, “There were big rocks on the track on the first day and it was up to us to clear and open the track as the first vehicle. Better on a relatively clean course in the first stage of the second day zamWe got moments. In the last stage, we were the first vehicle to open the track, which is also very challenging. The rally was productive for the whole team. Now we have to check various little things. Our team has now completed its first Baja race. The main goal was to learn a lot from this race.” he informed.
Stating that the race was very difficult, Lucas Cruz said, “We actually had to clear the stones since we were on the track for the first time. In this process, our tire blew twice. However, the rules do not allow competitors to use additional tires for the remainder of the rally. In general, we learned a lot during the two weeks we spent in Spain, especially during the test. For the Baja, we had to slightly change the setup of the car compared to a desert rally. These tracks are not the typical tracks we expect at the Dakar Rally. But we learn every kilometer.” said.