In 2022, Matthias Ekström and Emil Bergqvist starred in the Dakar Rally.
In 2023 it will be even better – which is why they are starting a new Swedish racing series that will take on the challenging desert conditions.
– That’s as close as you can get, the adrenaline rush is massive. Extrum says it’s a legal drug.
Together with his map reader Emil Bergqvist and rally raid driver Sebastian Ericsson, Ekström was looking for a form of racing that could equal the Dakar Rally. Now they themselves have developed a form of competition that can provide him with the training he needs for the toughest and toughest rally competition in the world.
– I would be lying if I said we are going there to participate. I dream of winning. At the same time, this is not realistic because the opponents are very good. I should take every opportunity possible to train, says Ekstrom.
Mattias Ekstöm about the new project SXS
The Dakar Rally started in 1978 and is now decided in Saudi Arabia. The competition runs for two weeks in January and attracts stars such as Stefan Peterhansel and Carlos Sainz, but also enthusiasts of racing and adventurers. For Matthias Ekström, who shares an electric motor with Audi, the competition is the most important event of the year. At the same time, he has to train for performance.
– There are almost no training opportunities for the kind of march that we are facing there. We were in Morocco training but we need more. I need to lead more of the unknown march of evolution. This is what I think is the hardest. So, we had to take matters into our own hands and create a championship that had the kind of rally that we needed to practice for.
Ekström Trains for the Dakar Rally
In a week, SXS (along with) kicks off with the first of three sub-races in Sweden. It’s a car that is very similar to the wagons that go on in the Dakar, but here the drivers race on the racetracks. Each vehicle has a speed of up to 200 km/h, shared by two drivers, and competitors drive the same distance multiple times. Initially, the race will be in central and northern Sweden. For the next year, the idea is to expand the project further.
– The feeling is very similar to driving the Dakar Rally, but I can probably compare it to a legal drug. By driving different types of racing cars, you can achieve this feeling. When power and weight ratio meet, you drive on a highway, road or open space at full speed and experience a combination of performance and risk. This feeling gives a rush to the body and is so massive. becomes legal property. It’s not like going to the store and buying cake, says Matthias Ekström.
It’s extreme, some are afraid, some are thrilled. I myself am the biggest adrenaline junkie in particular, and the adrenaline rush can be classified as a narcotic. Stay away from other medicines. I hardly drink beer, but that’s a very strong feeling. I am addicted to motorsports.
SXS starts at Hedemora in a week, two more races will be staged early next year, but in between, Mattias Ekström and Emil Bergkvist will be chasing success in the Dakar Rally.
Short F1 news
McLaren is giving two IndyCar drivers, Alex Palou and Patricio O’Ward, the chance to drive Formula 1. They will lead Friday’s first practice for the stable in Austin, USA and Abu Dhabi. This means that the team gives two newcomers the opportunity to run each practice and that’s exactly what the rules say as well. Ballou drives in the US where he replaces Daniel Ricciardo, Oward does not drive in his native Mexico but replaces Lando Norris in Abu Dhabi.
Along with Robert Schwarzman (Ferrari), Antonio Giovinazzi (Haas), Logan Sargent (Williams) and Teo Burshire (Alfa Romeo), Ballou is Friday’s fifth driver in Austin. Along with O´Ward, Fittipaldi (Haas) and Felipe Drugovich (Aston Martin) are leading the first clinic in Abu Dhabi.
There has been a lot of talk this week about Red Bull spending a lot of money in 2021. No decision has yet been made. That’s despite Formula One boss Ross Brawn saying in 2019 that a breakthrough would cost the world championship title.
If you have nothing to do this weekend, feel free to listen to the F1 podcast,