2016 FIA World Rallycross Champion Mattias Ekström has finally found his stride again after being well within the hunt for the win at the 2018 World RX of Norway from Q1 all the way through to the Supercar Final.
Saturday started off well for the former DTM champion as he finished Q1 in eighth place before upping his pace to end Q2 in second place. This faster time left the Swedish driver fourth overnight but looking for more pace in the EKS Audi Sport S1 Quattro.
Contact with Solberg in Q3 earned Ekstrom a penalty before Q4. Credit: Fro Hagena / Audi Sport
“Saturday was okay, but not fantastic,” said Ekström. “We posted good lap times, but didn’t have a lot of luck. For Sunday, we still have some work to do.”
“Sunday didn’t start well and the points we lost in qualifying hurt us.”
Ekstrom took his first podium of he season in Norway. Credit: Fro Hagena / Audi Sport
Sunday was a more challenging matter for the Audi driver. Contact in Q3 with rival Petter Solberg earned Ekström a penalty which left him fighting for a place in the Semi-Finals
Having finished in tenth place overall after Qualifying, Ekström chased Timmy Hansen home and survived to make it to the Final. Once there, he used a clever Joker strategy and would end up taking second place overall.
Ekstrom will be aiming for a podium in Holjes. Credit: Fro Hagena / Audi Sport
“In the semi-finals and the final, I managed to advance to second position with two great starts. We’re happy that now we’re able to take the trophy home,” explained Ekström
“Congratulations to Johan Kristoffersson and his crew, they had a really good weekend.”
Next up is the EKS Audi Sport drivers home race, the 2018 World RX of Sweden taking place at the “Magic of Rallycross” also known as Holjes.
