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Mattias Ekström
World RX - 2018 - RD2 Portugal (39936397700).jpg
Ekström in April 2018
Nationality Sweden Swedish
Born (1978-07-14) 14 July 1978 (age 46)
Falun, Sweden
FIA World Rallycross Championship career
Debut season 2014
Current team KYB Team JC
Car no. 5
Starts 60
Championships 1 (2016)
Wins 12
Podiums 27
Finished last season 2nd
DTM
Years active 2001–2018
Former teams Abt Sportsline
Starts 217
Championships 2 (2004, 2007)
Wins 25
Podiums 83
Poles 20
Fastest laps 17
FIA ERX Supercar Championship
Years active 2013–2014
Former teams Marklund Motorsport
Starts 3
Wins 1
Podiums 2
Best finish 10th in 2014
STCC
Years active 1997–2000
Former teams Volvo S40 Racing Team Sweden
Kristoffersson Motorsport
Troberg – Rydell Junior Team
Starts 55
Championships 1 (1999)
Wins 11
Podiums 30
Poles 6
Fastest laps 9
Previous series
2013
2010
1995–1996
V8 Supercars
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Renault 5 Junior Sweden
Championship titles
2016
2004, 2007
1999
1996
World Rallycross
DTM
STCC
Renault 5 Junior Sweden
World Rally Championship record
Active years 1999–2000, 2003–2006, 2021
Co-driver Sweden Tina Thörner
Sweden Stefan Bergman
Sweden Jonas Andersson
Sweden Emil Bergkvist
Teams Škoda Motorsport
Rallies 9
Championships 0
Rally wins 0
Podiums 0
Stage wins 0
Total points 0
First rally 1999 Rally Sweden
Last rally 2021 Arctic Rally

Mattias Ekström (born on July 14, 1978) is a famous racing and rally driver from Sweden. He is known for being a champion in different types of car racing. He raced for Audi in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) series from 2001 until 2018. Since 2014, he has also been competing in the FIA World Rallycross Championship with Audi.

Mattias has won many big titles. He is a World Rallycross Champion, a two-time DTM champion, and he has won the exciting Race of Champions four times!

Mattias Ekström's Racing Journey

Mattias Ekström 2007 DTM
Ekström won his second DTM championship in 2007.

Mattias Ekström started his racing career in karting in 1993. This is where young drivers learn the basics of racing. The next few years, he raced in the Renault 5 Turbo Cup, winning the championship in 1996.

Early Touring Car Success

In 1997, Mattias moved up to the Swedish Touring Car Championship. He finished second that year with a Volvo 850. In 1998, he drove a Ford Mondeo and earned four podium finishes, meaning he placed in the top three in four races.

He became a champion in 1999, winning the Swedish Touring Car Championship with an Audi A4 quattro. In 2000, he switched to a factory Volvo S40 and finished third overall.

Dominating in DTM

In 2001, Ekström joined the Abt Junior team to race in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM). This is a popular touring car series in Germany. He drove an Audi TT and quickly showed his talent. He finished 8th in his first season, then 3rd in 2002, and 4th in 2003.

His big breakthrough in DTM came in 2004. Mattias won the championship, beating strong rivals like Gary Paffett and Christijan Albers. In 2005, he finished second, just behind Gary Paffett.

After a tough 2006 season, Mattias bounced back. He won his second DTM title in 2007. This showed how determined and skilled he was as a driver.

Rallying and Race of Champions

Besides touring cars, Mattias also raced in rallying and the World Rally Championship (WRC). He first raced in the WRC in 1999. His best result was finishing tenth at the 2005 Swedish Rally in a Škoda factory team Fabia WRC.

Mattias is also famous for his success in the Race of Champions. This is a special event where top drivers from different racing series compete against each other. In 2005, he won the Nations' Cup with fellow driver Tom Kristensen. In 2006, he won the "Champion of Champions" title, beating rally legend Sébastien Loeb. He won the Race of Champions again in 2007 and 2009, beating Michael Schumacher in the finals both times!

NASCAR and Rallycross Adventures

Mattias Ekstrom NASCAR
Ekström's No. 83 car at Sonoma Raceway in 2010.

In June 2010, Mattias Ekström made history. He became one of the first Scandinavian drivers to race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in the USA. He drove for Team Red Bull at Infineon Raceway. He finished 21st and even led 7 laps during the race!

Mattias followed in his father Bengt's footsteps by getting into rallycross in 2013. He competed in a race in Sweden and finished second. Soon after, he started his own team called EKS RX. This team would compete in the new FIA World Rallycross Championship.

2014 DTM HockenheimringII Mattias Ekstroem by 2eight 8SC4973
Ekström competing in the 2014 DTM season.

His team debuted in 2014, racing Audi S1 cars. Mattias is known for being a very versatile driver, meaning he's good at many different types of racing.

In 2013, he even raced in the Bathurst 1000 in Australia, a very tough endurance race. He finished 10th, and racing experts praised his performance, saying he was one of the best new drivers they had seen.

Mattias Ekström (Audi S1 EKS RX quattro), FIA World Rallycross Championship, Rd 6 Höljes (27752020270)
Ekström in his Audi S1 at the 2016 World RX of Sweden.

In January 2018, Mattias announced he would stop racing in DTM. He wanted to focus completely on his rallycross team, EKS RX. Audi Sport even gave his team more support. However, Audi later stopped their official support, which made things difficult for his team.

Despite this, Mattias returned to the World Rallycross Championship in 2020. He joined the JC Race Teknik team and had a fantastic season. He won two races and earned five podium finishes out of six events. This made him a top contender for the championship that year.

Racing Records Summary

Mattias Ekström has competed in many different racing series throughout his career. These include:

  • Swedish Touring Car Championship (STCC): He won the championship in 1999.
  • Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM): He won two championships in 2004 and 2007.
  • FIA World Rallycross Championship: He became the World Champion in 2016.
  • NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: He raced in two events in 2010.
  • V8 Supercars: He competed in the Bathurst 1000 endurance race in 2013.
  • Dakar Rally: A challenging off-road endurance race he has participated in since 2021.
  • Extreme E: An electric off-road racing series where he finished 2nd in 2023.

His career shows his amazing skill and ability to adapt to different types of racing cars and tracks.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Mattias Ekström para niños

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