Shock and awe: Audi Sport looks to bring Formula E success to Dakar Rally

MANILA: There are few things in life better than hanging the gloves while you're on top and calling the shots on your own terms. Audi Sport did just that with a victory at the electric-powered motorsports series’ 2021 season finale in Berlin, Germany. The high-performance division of Audi AG is now fully focused on its next electrifying project — competing for overall victory at the Dakar Rally using an electric-powered car.

Audi is set to mark its first official appearance in the race series in January 2022.

“Audi was the first German car manufacturer to make a factory commitment to Formula E,” said Audi Sport GmbH Managing Director Julius Seebach, responsible for motorsports programs at Audi. “Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler is the most successful team in Formula E and was a pioneer in this racing series. Now, one of the biggest challenges there is in motorsports awaits us — the Dakar Rally.”

Audi Sport, thorough years of development and success in the Formula E campaigns, has unveiled its Audi RS Q e-tron which will be used as the flagship racer in the legendary cross-country rally. Powering the beast is a 250kW motor-generator unit (MGU) found in Audi’s Formula E car — the e-tron FE07 — developed in-house by Audi Sport. In the Audi RS Q e-tron resides one MGU mounted on the front axle and another on the rear axle to provide an electric Quattro drive. Each of the MGUs weighs less than 35 kilograms and achieve an efficiency rating of 97% — impressive proof of Audi’s electric mobility performance. A third MGU paired with a highly efficient Audi TFSI internal-combustion engine functions as an energy converter that recharges the car’s high-voltage battery on the go.  

For the Dakar Rally, Audi Sport has signed up the powerhouse driver pairings of Stephane Peterhansel and Edouard Boulanger, Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz, and Mattias Ekstrom and Emil Bergkvist. The brand’s return to rallying with an electric vehicle comes full circle as the Audi Quattro revolutionized the sport with all-wheel drive. Today, Audi’s permanent all-wheel-drive Quattro is standard in many of its production models, and even comes in electric form in the all-electric e-tron vehicles. The experience gained in Dakar will be incorporated into the development of Audi’s electric-powered production models. Research and development in these events have made the Audi E-Tron GT a possibility.

Audi Sport exits Formula E with a stellar record as the Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler team emerges as most successful in the series. The team collected 1,380 points, 14 victories and 47 podium finishes in 84 races, while works driver Lucas di Grassi won the drivers’ title in the 2016/2017 season. In its first season as a factory team, Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler clinched the teams’ title at the first attempt in the 2017/2018 season.

At Formula E’s 2021 season finale in Berlin, written on the halo system of the two Audi e-tron FE07 cars driven by di Grassi and Rene Rast was; “Thank you Formula E, it’s been electrifying!” The first world championship for electric racing cars started on September 13, 2014 in Beijing, China, with a victory from di Grassi.

Photos from Audi

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