Following the revelation that it will be entering the Dakar Rally in 2022, Audi has announced it is working with Q Motorsport for its assault on the desert endurance classic.
Based in Trebur, Germany, Q Motorsport was founded by Sven Quandt and his two sons Thomas and Tobias. As a driver, Sven Quandt won the T1 Marathon Cup in 1998. In the same year, his team GECO Raid celebrated a 1-2-3 victory in the T1 classification of the Paris-Dakar Rally. From November 2002 to the end of 2004, Quandt was the head of motorsport at Mitsubishi Motors. At the same time, he began to build up the X-raid Team, which has gone on to celebrate five victories in the Dakar Rally and has won the FIA World Cup for cross-country rallies 11 times.
“With Q Motorsport, we want to break new ground in cross-country motorsport independently of and parallel to X-raid,” explained Quandt. “The world is changing and the Dakar must also prove that it can be sustainable and continue to point the way forward. This is exactly what Q Motorsport wants to demonstrate together with Audi.”
Audi’s approach comes as no surprise, the company having regularly partnered with experienced outfits in its motorsport projects, such as Joest Racing for its Le Mans efforts.
“By cooperating with Q Motorsport, we are sticking to our philosophy that has proven itself at Audi over many years,” noted Julius Seebach, MD of Audi Sport. “The development of the Dakar prototype with its innovative drivetrain concept is being carried out in-house. We are contesting the race together with an experienced partner. The Q Motorsport team contributes an enormous amount of specific experience from cross-country motorsport.”
