Mattias Ekstrom has said he is willing to contest the Dakar Rally for the next 15 years if that is what it takes to win the world’s most prestigious rally-raid.
Although best known for his success in the DTM where he claimed two titles with Abt Audi, Ekstrom has increasingly shifted his focus to avenues outside of circuit racing in recent years.
After success in the World Rallycross Championship, he won the 2016 title with his own EKS squad, the Swede made his Dakar debut aboard a Yamaha lightweight prototype in 2021 before moving up to the top class the following year with Audi’s new hybrid challenger.
Holding his own against rally legends Stephane Peterhansel and Carlos Sainz Sr, Ekstrom tallied up four stage wins and scored a best finish of ninth despite being beset by technical problems during the three years of the Audi RS Q e-tron programme.
Now switching to Ford’s new rally-raid project with the Raptor T1, the 46-year-old said he would not settle for anything less than a victory in Dakar, even if that takes another 15 attempts.
“I'm trying to have a perfect Dakar, that's my dream,” Ekstrom told Motorsport.com Netherlands. “I will keep fighting until I win it. Whether that takes one, two, 10 or 15 years, it doesn't matter. I will continue until I have won.”
Ekstrom cited the example of team-mate Sainz Sr, who became the oldest driver to win Dakar after triumphing for the fourth time this year at the age of 61.
“So theoretically I still have 15 years to go,” he quipped. “Carlos is slightly older than me. I have to see if I'm still as good [then], but we still have 15 chances!
“[If I win] I might come back, but I can guarantee that I won't go for Stephane Peterhansel's record [of 14 wins, including eight in cars]. Those are a bit too far away, but winning once would be great for me.”
Ekstrom’s third appearance in Dakar’s top class with Audi unraveled after the mid-rally rest day, as numerous technical issues with the RS Q e-tron left him out of the running for overall victory.
He was running second at the halfway point of the rally, 20 minutes behind team-mate and eventual winner Sainz Sr.
However, Ekstrom says the troubles he faced this year won’t change his approach for 2025, as he plans to turn the wick up again in the second half of the contest.
“Everyone is going full out,” he said. “The pace is very close and it's about who drops the ball first.
“The leading group is going to get smaller and smaller and I think if we are in the leading group at the rest day, then hopefully we are going to see something really nice.
“We have to survive the first part and then fix the car on the rest day. I am especially looking forward to the second part.”
In September, Ekstrom announced that he is ending a 23-year-old relationship with Audi, ostensibly due to the Ingolstadt-based marque no longer having a Dakar programme to accommodate him in 2025.
This was followed by the news that he would team up with Ford for its high-profile entry into Dakar and he got an early chance to test its new contender in Rally Morocco.
Although the end result wasn’t up to his liking, the Swede came away impressed with the speed of the new Raptor developed jointly by Ford Performance and M-Sport.
“When it comes to handling, I always used to say [it depends upon] how much fun factor you have behind the steering wheel,” he said. “When that factor is high, it’s very often the same [case] as I’m doing good in terms of results.
“The handling is amazing. Chassis-wise, I feel I can drive it as I wish. In the corners, it steers very directly.”
On his prospects for Dakar, he added: “That is probably why I am so happy. In my world we’ll be competitive.
"I had the same feeling in Morocco. We didn't have a spotless rally - we had some small problems - but the feeling inside the car was very good.
“When you have a good feeling and you feel you can drive the way you want, that's the best feeling you can have.”
Ford has assembled a strong cast of drivers for its factory entry into Dakar in January, with Ekstrom being joined by Sainz Sr, two-time champion Nani Roma and Mitch Guthrie Jr.
Outside of Dakar and the wider World Rally-Raid Championship, Ekstrom has also gained off-roading experience in Extreme E, finishing second in the championship in 2023 with the Sainz XE team.
