A word from... Mattias Ekström

You escaped the winter at the winter camp on Lanzarote. How was you trip in the summer?

The winter camp was a little shorter than usual, but more intensive. Even so, we had a lot of fun with the funny games and while doing our sport. Of course it was great to meet all my teammates again in a relaxed atmosphere after the winter break.

From the warmth of Lanzarote you traveled directly to the cold in Kitzbühel – quite a contrast ...

The Kitzbühel week is always something special for me. It’s great fun watching the ski races. This year we also staged the Audi quattro SuperQ, in which eight fantastic athletes drove the Audi RS 3 Sportback* and our rallycross car on snow and ice. It was an incredible experience and it was interesting to see how the athletes improved and the ambition they develop during the competition. It was an all round successful event.

How will things continue in 2016 with your private rallycross team EKS RX?

We are currently at the stage of developing the car and planning the budgets – and also planning the schedule because my priority is and remains the DTM. I try to drive as much rallycross as possible. I hope that we can clarify everything by the end of February. I have a good feeling at the moment. We made good progress with the car and consequently good foundations for a successful season. With Ken Block joining the series a popular new opponent has arrived, who will make the rallycross world championship even more interesting.

How do preparations look for the new DTM season, which starts at the beginning of May at Hockenheim?

A test is on the agenda at the end of February in Spain, and there is another test before Hockenheim. The regulations don’t allow much testing and the technology in the car is ‘frozen.’ Which means at the moment my energy is reserved mainly for training and planning the season. The Audi RS 5 DTM was very good last year, which is why I am confident for 2016.

One of the highlights in Kitzbühel is always the Audi Night. Which stars did you meet?

It’s great fun to meet superstars like Jason Statham or Gwyneth Paltrow. Lena Gercke and Maria Höfl-Riesch were sat at my table. My idols are definitely the sports heroes like the eight athletes that participated in our Audi quattro SuperQ. For me, people like professional cyclist Danny MacAskill are just extraordinary.

Audi