“This may be the best day in my motorsport career,” says Ekström. “I’ve had so many sweet moments with Audi Sport in the DTM, but this here is really, really special. We started from scratch three years ago. In October 2013, there was nothing. Only few people can imagine what my team and I have built since then. Obviously, I owe a big debt of gratitude to my employer, Audi Sport. My bosses gave me permission to compete at the Estering in order to maximize my chances of winning the title. That couldn’t be taken for granted, and I’m very, very thankful for this. I hope that by clinching the big trophy, I was able to put a smile on their faces.”
On clinching the title, Ekström proved once more that he is one of the world’s most complete race drivers. Since 2001, he has contested 177 DTM races for Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline, celebrating 22 victories and two titles (2004, 2007). This makes Ekström the most successful Audi DTM driver in history. His career has also seen the 38-year-old triumph in the Race of Champions on four occasions – once in the teams’ classification with Tom Kristensen (2005) and three times in the single classification (2006, 2007, 2009), which included beating the seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Michael Schumacher and others. In addition, his track record includes successes in the Swedish Touring Car Championship (STCC), in the World Rally Championship as well as in the NASCAR and the Australian V8 Supercars series.
The World Championship title win is a very special occasion for Audi Sport as well, as besides Formula 1, the WRC, WEC and WTCC, the title in the World Rallycross Championship is only one of five FIA World Championship titles. Most recently, in 2012 and 2013, the Audi teams in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) were able to celebrate victories in the drivers’ classification. The last title of an individual Audi driver dates back 32 years. In 1984, Ekström’s compatriot Stig Blomqvist won the World Rally Championship. “Stig clinched the title with quattro drive. In the WEC, the Audi R18 e-tron quattro was successful and now I’ve been able to contribute a chapter to this success story with my Audi S1 EKS RX quattro,” says Ekström.