Audi’s RS Q e-tron adds Dakar Rally to its trophy case with inaugural win
Masochism can be a cruel mistress. And yet for some, they can’t seem to get enough. Take the intrepid competitors in the storied Dakar Rally. Every year, a hearty group of racers bring their two- and four wheeled machines to the starting line on January 1st to embark on a two week odyssey through what can only be described as the motorsports equivalent of the Seventh Ring of Hell. Without question, the most difficult cross-country race in the world, Dakar has evolved into an internationally recognized and respected contest, complete with big teams, big sponsors and top flight drivers. After an exploratory foray in 2023, Audi returned this year, and with their purpose-built special hybrid, low-emissions prototype Audi RS Q e-tron, emerged victorious. This was the first ever overall win at the Dakar Rally with such a vehicle, which sports an electric all-wheel drive system, a high-voltage battery/ special energy converter, and internal combustion engine runs on residual fuel-based refuel, cutting C02 emissions by 60%.
The Dakar Rally started in 1978 with an original route running from Paris through southern Europe and Africa, before finishing up in Dakar, Senegal, to explain its name. In 2009 the Dakar Rally was relocated to South America after organizers feared terrorist threats. Since 2020 the Dakar Rally has been held in Saudi Arabia, and the varying course, which is very difficult to follow and drive, is about 4,900-miles of rough roads, rocks, lots of sand, and boulders that can stop regular cars. It’s a gigantic challenge for all 345 total entries in the five main classes (cars, bikes, trucks, lightweight vehicles, and Quads, and there are subcategories of each) to tackle the 12-separate “stages” of the Rally, including one 48-hour marathon stage, in 14-days of competition. Just the event logistics are difficult to comprehend.
This very impressive Audi win in the Dakar by Spaniards Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz in their Audi prototype electric all-wheel drive vehicle has prompted Oliver Hoffmann, a member of the Board of Management of Audi Ag/technical Development, to state: “With our revolutionary electrified drive, we have overcome one of the biggest challenges in motorsport after just three years. We are thus
continuing a long series of pioneering achievements that have always characterized Audi in four decades of motorsport. I would like to thank the entire team for this outstanding performance in a particularly tough edition of the Dakar Rally.”
We have watched on television segments of the Dakar Rally, and it seems like the sand and rocks never end, and you see those off-road vehicles and motorcycles kicking up dust while speeding into the sunset– think about some rough parts of West Texas. Audi has invested smartly in advanced electrified drives, and they have again proven that their technology can conquer very difficult terrain under the most stressful conditions.
It should not be lost that Carlos Sainz, now 61 years of age, known in Europe as “El Matador”, is a veteran race driver and World Rally Championship winner, and has won previous editions of the Dakar Rally in 2010, 2018, 2020, and now in 2024. Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz delivered the first Dakar win for a hybrid car–that durable and efficient prototype Audi RS Q e-tron E2, and at the same time, Sainz became the oldest-ever winner of the Dakar Rally. “It means a lot to me,” Sainz said about his victory. “Audi believed in this special car and this special concept. We never gave up. To be here at my age and to stay at that level, you need to do a lot of work beforehand. It doesn’t just come like that”, added Sainz, who has achieved each Dakar victory with a different manufacturer. In the Dakar closing ceremonies, Carlos Sainz, Jr., the son and Ferrari Formula 1 driver, was spotted as he celebrated with his family.