Sven Quandt in charge of the Audi program at the Dakar

Audi offers itself a heavyweight rally raid for his Dakar debut. The brand with the rings is launching a program dedicated to the largest rally raid in the world from 2022, with an innovative prototype. To ensure a good showing, she decided to trust Sven Quandt, through his structure Q Motorsport, based in Trebur in Germany.

“By cooperating with Q Motorsport, we are sticking to our philosophy which has proven itself at Audi for many years”, says Julius Seebach, Managing Director of Audi Sport GmbH and Head of Motorsport at Audi. “The development of the Dakar prototype with its innovative transmission concept is carried out in-house. The Q Motorsport team brings enormous specific rally-raid experience. »

Indeed, Sven Quandt has been racing in the Dakar since the last century. In 1998, his GECO Raid team achieved the hat-trick with a Mitsubishi Pajero entrusted in particular to Jean-Pierre Fontenay. From 2002 to 2004, Quandt found himself at the head of Mitsubishi Motors, at the same time as the creation of the X-Raid team, which has won five Dakar victories since 2012, including the last edition in 2020. All with Mini, a brand of the BMW group, Audi's great rival.

It is therefore surprising to see Quandt end up at Audi. “ With Q-Motorsport, we want to innovate in rally raid independently and in parallel with X-raid., specifies Sven Quandt. “The world is changing and the Dakar must also prove that it can be sustainable and continue to lead the way. This is exactly what Q Motorsport wants to demonstrate with Audi. »

X-Raid would therefore continue at the Dakar, despite Audi's debut.