Mattias Ekström
Nation: | Sweden | ||||||||
DTM | |||||||||
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First race: | Nürburgring 2001 | ||||||||
Last race: | Hockenheimring II 2017 | ||||||||
Teams (manufacturers) | |||||||||
2001–2017 Abt Sportsline ( Audi ) | |||||||||
statistics | |||||||||
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Podiums: | 75 | ||||||||
Overall wins: | 2 ( 2004 , 2007 ) | ||||||||
Points: | 1105 |
Bengt Mattias Ekström (born July 14, 1978 in Falun ) is a Swedish automobile racing driver . He is the son of rallycross driver Bengt Ekström, who was known throughout Europe in the 1990s .
He was active in the STCC from 1997 to 2000 , where he achieved the championship title in 1999. He competed in the DTM from 2001 to 2017 and won the championship there in 2004 and 2007. From 2013 to 2018 he competed in the FIA World Rallycross Championship and became world champion in the driver and team championship with his team EKS Audi Sport in 2016.
Career
Beginnings in motorsport (1993–1996)
Ekström began his racing career in 1993 in the Swedish kart championship . He was active in karting until 1994. At the same time, he made his debut in touring car racing in 1994 and competed in the Swedish Renault 5 Turbo Cup. After becoming runner-up in 1995, he won the championship in 1996.
STCC (1997-2000)
In 1997 Ekström moved to the Swedish Touring Car Championship (STCC). He drove a Volvo 850 GLT in the Troberg-Rydell Junior Team . He won four of twelve races and was runner-up behind Jan Nilsson , who won the remaining races. Ekström was the best newcomer this year. In 1998 he stayed with his team, which used a Ford Mondeo Ghia that season . He achieved four podium finishes and finished the season in eighth place in the drivers' standings.
In 1999 Ekström moved to Kristoffersson Motorsport , the team of ex- rallycross driver Tommy Kristoffersson , within the STCC and received an Audi A4 quattro . He finished four of sixteen races in first place and won the championship with 215 to 209 points ahead of Fredrik Ekblom . In addition, he competed for his team in two races in the German Super Touring Car Championship this season . In 2000 Ekström contested his fourth STCC season for the Volvo S40 Racing Team Sweden in a Volvo S40 . He won three races and was on the podium in ten out of sixteen races. In the drivers' championship, he finished the season in third place.
DTM (2001-2017)
In 2001 Ekström moved to Abt Sportsline in the DTM and received an Abt-Audi TT-R . He entered the championship for the second race and finished six of nine races in the points. He also achieved a podium placement with a third place. He finished the season in eighth place in the championship. In 2002 Ekström stood on the podium a total of six times and scored his first DTM victory at Zandvoort . As the second best Audi driver after champion Laurent Aïello , he finished the championship in third place. In his third DTM season , Ekström scored points in every race he finished. But it wasn't enough for a win this season. With four podium finishes, he finished fourth in the championship as the best Abt Audi driver.
When Audi entered the DTM at the factory , Ekström stayed with Abt Sportsline in 2004 . He won the races in Adria , Klettwitz , Zandvoort and Brno and won the championship with 74 to 57 points ahead of Mercedes driver Gary Paffett . In addition, Ekström took part in the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring this season and finished eighth. In 2005 Ekström had title chances with victories in Brno, Nürburg and Klettwitz until the last race. In the end, however, he lost to Paffett with 71 to 84 points and was runner-up as the best Audi driver. In 2006 Ekström did not manage to build on the successes from previous seasons. His win at Brands Hatch also marked his only podium finish this season. In the overall standings, he was eighth of the worst Abt Sportsline driver.
In 2007 Ekström started the season with a win at the Hockenheimring . Although there was no further victory in the further course of the season, Ekström won the championship title with six more podium finishes. He prevailed against Mercedes driver Bruno Spengler with 50 to 47 points . In 2008 Ekström won the season opener at Hockenheim again. This was followed by two more victories in the DTM races at Zandvoort and Le Mans . While his team-mate Timo Scheider won the championship title, Ekström was third in the drivers' championship. In 2009 Ekström remained without a win. With five podium finishes, which he achieved in consecutive races, he finished the season in fifth place overall. Behind Scheider, he was again the second best driver on his team. In addition, he made a guest start in a Porsche 997 GT3 RSR at the VLN endurance championship Nürburgring , where he achieved pole position , but failed in the race. He also took part in the Nürburgring 24-hour race once more. Starting in an Audi R8 LMS , his team finished 23rd in the overall standings.
In 2010 Ekström contested his tenth DTM season for Abt Sportsline. He was beaten again within the team by Scheider, who finished fourth, and ended the season with a win in Valencia in fifth place in the championship. In addition, debuted Ekström in 2010 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup . He competed in two races in a Toyota for the Red Bull Racing Team . His best result was a 21st place. He also took part in a race in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West . In 2011 Ekström started the DTM season with a second place. After four races without a podium, his first win of the season followed at the Nürburgring. Another victory followed two races later in Oschersleben . In the rain race he had a lead of over 40 seconds. At the following race in Valencia he scored his third win of the season. He finished the season as the best Abt driver in second place in the championship behind his brand colleague Tomczyk. He also started in the Blancpain Endurance Series in a race in the GT3 Pro classification and won it.
In 2012 Ekström received a new car in the DTM with the Audi A5 DTM . He stayed with Abt Sportsline. Ekström achieved three third places, but did not manage to win. As the best Abt driver, he finished the season in sixth place in the drivers' championship. He also won a DTM show race at the Munich Olympic Stadium . In 2013 Ekström is completing his 13th DTM season for Abt. In the race at the Norisring , he crossed the finish line in first place. Because his father poured water into the pocket of his racing suit in the Parc Fermé, he was disqualified after the race for breaking the Parc Fermé rules. A race later at Moscow Raceway , he finished second. At the end of the season Ekström was the best Abt driver in seventh place overall. In 2014 Ekström stayed with Abt in the DTM again. He started the season with a second place in Hockenheim. He won the last two races of the season at Zandvoort and Hockenheim. He finished the championship in second place.
In 2015 Ekström continued to compete for Abt in the DTM. He chose 5 as his starting number. He won the second race at the season opener in Hockenheim. At the fifth race weekend in Spielberg , Ekström also won the second race. Ekström finished the season in third place overall. He was the best Abt driver, but was defeated internally by Audi to Jamie Green with 147 to 150 points. In the DTM season in 2016 Ekström came again for Abt. He won a race in Mogyoród . Since he was also active in rallycross that year, he skipped two races. These were the first DTM races that Ekström had missed since his debut in 2001. In the overall standings he reached seventh place.
Rallying
At the same time as the DTM, Ekström is also sporadically active in rallying. In the Swedish Rally and the Rally Catalunya 2004, he was overall winner of the group N .
Race of Champions
In 2005 he and Tom Kristensen won the Nations Cup of the prestigious Race of Champions (RoC) in the Stade de France . In 2006 (also in the Stade de France), 2007 (in Wembley Stadium , London ) and 2009 (in the National Stadium in Beijing ) Ekström won the RoC title, known as “Champion of Champions”.
Rallycross (2013-2018)
In 2013 Mattias Ekström entered the rallycross motorsport discipline . After finishing second in the Swedish championship of the European Rallycross Championship in Höljes, the plan arose to found his own rallycross team. The EKSRX team made its debut at the Norwegian run of the 2014 World Rallycross Championship in Hell, which at that time was an integral part of the so-called FIA World Rallycross Championship (WorldRX) with two all-wheel-drive and almost 600 hp Audi S1 rallycross SuperCars. In 2016 Ekström won the World Rallycross Championship. In 2017 it was only enough for second place in the World Cup. Audi expanded its support for the 2018 season: Ekström's team has been officially entitled "EKS Audi Sport" since then. Ekström announced his departure from the DTM in January 2018 in order to devote himself fully to rallycross. At the last race of the 2018 season in Cape Town , Mattias Ekström announced his retirement from the FIA World Rallycross Championship .
Personal
Ekström's hometown is Avesta in Sweden, he currently lives with his girlfriend and two children in Munich , Germany .
statistics
Career stations
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Individual results in the DTM
season | team | Manufacturer | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4th | 5 | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14th | 15th | 16 | 17th | 18th | Points | rank |
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2001 | Abt Sportsline Junior | Audi | HO1 | NÜ1 | OSC | SAC | NOR | LAU | NÜ2 | SPI | ZAN | HO2 | 38 | 8th. | ||||||||
9 | 7th | 5 | 9 | 3 | 14th | 11 | DNF | 6th | ||||||||||||||
2002 | Abt Sportsline | Audi | HO1 | ZOL | DON | SAC | NOR | LAU | ONLY | SPI | ZAN | HO2 | 50 | 3. | ||||||||
2 | 4th | 3 | 7th | 3 | 2 | 10 | 11 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||||||
2003 | Abt Sportsline | Audi | HO1 | ADR | NÜ1 | LAU | NOR | DON | NÜ2 | SPI | ZAN | HO2 | 46 | 4th | ||||||||
8th | 2 | 7th | 3 | DNF | 3 | 4th | 5 | 3 | 2 | |||||||||||||
2004 | Abt Sportsline | Audi | HO1 | EST | ADR | LAU | NOR | SHA 1 | ONLY | OSC | ZAN | BRN | HO2 | 74 | 1. | |||||||
3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4th | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 6th | ||||||||||||
2005 | Abt Sportsline | Audi | HO1 | LA1 | SPA | BRN | OSC | NOR | ONLY | ZAN | LA2 | IS | HO2 | 71 | 2. | |||||||
5 | 4th | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 7th | ||||||||||||
2006 | Abt Sportsline | Audi | HO1 | LAU | OSC | BRH | NOR | ONLY | ZAN | BAR | LEM | HO2 | 21st | 8th. | ||||||||
DNF | DSQ | 7th | 1 | 6th | 8th | 13 | 4th | DNF | 12 | |||||||||||||
2007 | Abt Sportsline | Audi | HO1 | OSC | LAU | BRH | NOR | MUG | ZAN | ONLY | BAR | HO2 | 50 | 1. | ||||||||
1 | 7th | 10 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | DNF | 3 | |||||||||||||
2008 | Abt Sportsline | Audi | HO1 | OSC | MUG | LAU | NOR | ZAN | ONLY | BRH | BAR | LEM | HO2 | 56 | 3. | |||||||
1 | 8th | 6th | 3 | 4th | 1 | 6th | 3 | DSQ | 1 | 7th | ||||||||||||
2009 | Abt Sportsline | Audi | HO1 | LAU | NOR | ZAN | OSC | ONLY | BRH | BAR | DIJ | HO2 | 41 | 5. | ||||||||
7th | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6th | 9 | DNF | |||||||||||||
2010 | Abt Sportsline | Audi | HO1 | VAL | LAU | NOR | ONLY | ZAN | BRH | OSC | HO2 | ADR | SHA | 35 | 5. | |||||||
6th | 1 | DNF | 2 | 7th | 4th | DNF | 3 | DNF | 8th | 9 | ||||||||||||
2011 | Abt Sportsline | Audi | HO1 | ZAN | SPI | LAU | NOR | ONLY | BRH | OSC | VAL | HO2 | 52 | 2. | ||||||||
2 | 8th | DNF | 11 | 7th | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6th | |||||||||||||
2012 | Abt Sportsline | Audi | HO1 | LAU | BRH | SPI | NOR | ONLY | ZAN | OSC | VAL | HO2 | 81 | 6th | ||||||||
3 | 5 | 5 | 4th | DNF | 11 | 3 | 8th | 3 | DNF | |||||||||||||
2013 | Abt Sportsline | Audi | HO1 | BRH | SPI | LAU | NOR | MOS | ONLY | OSC | ZAN | HO2 | 68 | 7th | ||||||||
DNF | 7th | 5 | 8th | DSQ | 2 | 13 | 7th | 4th | 4th | |||||||||||||
2014 | Abt Sportsline | Audi | HO1 | OSC | HUN | NOR | MOS | SPI | ONLY | LAU | ZAN | HO2 | 106 | 2. | ||||||||
2 | 13 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 7th | DNF | DNF | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||
2015 | Abt Sportsline | Audi | HO1 | LAU | NOR | ZAN | SPI | MOS | OSC | ONLY | HO2 | 147 | 3. | |||||||||
12 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 17th | 4th | 13 | 7th | 5 | 1 | DNF | 3 | 14th | 11 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 2 | |||||
2016 | Abt Sportsline | Audi | HO1 | SPI | LAU | NOR | ZAN | MOS | ONLY | HUN | HO2 | 107 | 7th | |||||||||
9 | DNF | 16 | 2 | 6th | 2 | DNF | DNF | 7th | 7th | 5 | 9 | DSQ | 4th | 19th | 1 | |||||||
2017 | Abt Sportsline | Audi | HO1 | LAU | HUN | NOR | MOS | ZAN | ONLY | SPI | HO2 | 176 | 2. | |||||||||
5 | 11 | 8th | 2 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4th | 8th | 2 | 17 * | 3 | 15th | 6th | 1 | 5 | 11 | 8th |
Legend | ||
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colour | abbreviation | meaning |
gold | - | victory |
silver | - | 2nd place |
bronze | - | 3rd place |
green | - | Placement in the points |
blue | - | Classified outside the point ranks |
violet | DNF | Race not finished (did not finish) |
NC | not classified | |
red | DNQ | did not qualify |
DNPQ | failed in pre-qualification (did not pre-qualify) | |
black | DSQ | disqualified |
White | DNS | not at the start (did not start) |
WD | withdrawn | |
Light Blue | PO | only participated in the training (practiced only) |
TD | Friday test driver | |
without | DNP | did not participate in the training (did not practice) |
INJ | injured or sick | |
EX | excluded | |
DNA | did not arrive | |
C. | Race canceled | |
no participation in the World Cup | ||
other | P / bold | Pole position |
SR / italic | Fastest race lap | |
* | not at the finish, but counted due to the distance covered |
|
() | Streak results | |
underlined | Leader in the overall standings |
1 The race in Shanghai was not part of the championship.
Web links
- Official website of Mattias Ekström (English)
- Official Rallycross site of EKSRX (English)
- Career statistics by Mattias Ekström (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ekström: Short fun in the VLN Porsche. www.motorsport-total.com, April 7, 2009, accessed April 15, 2009 .
- ↑ "Oschersleben: Ekström as the winner, Tomczyk as the winner" (Motorsport-Total.com on September 18, 2011)
- ↑ "Audi driver squad for the DTM 2012 is up" (Motorsport-Total.com on February 24, 2012)
- ↑ Dominik Sharaf: "Ekström swims to victory at the show event". Motorsport-Total.com, July 15, 2012, accessed August 18, 2012 .
- ↑ "DTM - Audi confirms seven drivers for 2013". Number 8 is hoping. Motorsport-Magazin.com, December 19, 2012, accessed January 25, 2013 .
- ↑ Stefanie Szlapka, Stefan Ziegler: "Because of a water bottle: Ekström excluded!" Motorsport-Total.com, July 14, 2013, accessed on July 14, 2013 .
- ↑ Sönke Brederlow: "Ekström: Also in 2015 in the DTM". Motorsport-Magazin.com, September 26, 2014, accessed September 27, 2014 .
- ↑ New driver - new team name: "EKS Audi Sport" 2018 with Andreas Bakkerud [UPDATE] - worldrallyx.de. Retrieved on April 27, 2018 (German).
- ↑ Mattias Ekström leaves the DTM - focus on rallycross! [UPDATE] - worldrallyx.de. Retrieved on April 27, 2018 (German).
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Ekström, Mattias |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Ekström, Bengt Mattias |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swedish racing car driver |
DATE OF BIRTH | July 14, 1978 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Falun , Sweden |