The Audi brand has always been something very special for “El Matador”. “The Audi quattro changed the World Rally Championship forever,” says Sainz. “Now we are trying something similar at the Dakar Rally. The engineers have much more freedom in the Dakar Rally than in other racing series. I have full confidence in the Audi brand. When I joined Audi, I said don’t underestimate the Dakar. And they didn’t. They trusted the direction we wanted to take the project. And that is now the success. We had a very successful first year thanks to the technology. It was the right approach by both parties.”
