Audi’s incredible triumph makes history in the rally world.
With the RS Q-etron, Audi has been taking on the daunting and legendary Dakar Rally with an all-electric race car for the past three years, and that dedication has paid off in the form of Audi winning the race, considered by many to be the world’s most challenging rally, and that victory made for a historic moment in the histories of the Dakar Rally, the rally world, and Audi’s performance and motorsport efforts alike.
Its innovative approach to off-road high performance is not only futuristic but environmentally conscious, with electric drive that uses an energy converter ran on reFuel, which reduces CO2 emissions by 60% compared to traditional fuel. With these innovations, Audi set out to change the rally and motorsport worlds, and winning the Dakar Rally is a big step towards doing just that.
The drivers behind the wheel of the winning car were Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz. At 61 with a rally career spanning over 40 years, this victory is one of the most important and historic moments in Sainz’s racing repertoire, and the incredible race saw them in the lead for eight days out of the total 12 stages. The race spans a total of nearly 5,000 miles, featuring gravel roads, vast dunes, and the Empty Quarter Desert of Saudi Arabia.
The lead was no small lead, either, with the winning car being ahead of the closest competitor by 1 hour and 20 minutes. With a big lead, innovative engineering, and futuristic electric power, the Audi RS Q e-tron’s 2024 Dakar Rally victory is sure to change the racing world.
Image Source: Audi