Once again, the podium was painted with Cupra’s colors, with the Swede at the top of the podium accompanied by his teammates Adrien Tambay and Jordi Gené, , who contributed important points to the Spanish team’s undisputed lead in the Manufacturers Championship.

“We had a great weekend as a team to finish 1,2,3, with Jordi’s first podium, my second King of the Weekend of the year so I cannot say enough how happy we are, also for the fans, friends and the CUPRA personnel who visited us. IIt’s been very hot, very exciting and very exhausting, but it’s a nice feeling now when you finally add some champagne!”, said Ekström.

Related content | FIA ETCR: CUPRA Racing Expects to Repeat the Title Won in 2021

On the other hand, Romeo Ferraris’ Maxime Martin had an interesting race after being the weekend’s best non-Cupra driver, followed by Hyundai Motorsport N’s Mikel Azcona as fifth in the race standings, while his teammate Norbert Michelisz closed on the sixth place.

In this way, Mattias Ekström, who took the total honors in the previous season when the series was called Pure ETCR, went on to lead the Drivers’ Championship with 280 units, although his teammate Adrien Tambay follows him closely, just at six points (274), while Mikel Azcona closes the top 3 with 203 points.

It should be noted that the ERA Championship was also present at the Jarama Circuit with its fully electric car,preparing the beginning of a category dedicated to young drivers who are starting to build their careers on professional motorsports. On the other hand and back to FIA ETCR, the action will move to the Zolder Circuit, in Belgium, from July 8-10 to dispute the fourth race of the 2022 championship.

Written by | Ronald Ortega

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The Swede drove his ABT CUPRA XE without the right door of the vehicle, because during the course, it came off surprising the driver, but he was able to recover from this aerodynamic loss and managed to take the car to the finish line. In fact, he reached the podium after finishing second.

“Many, many thanks to Zenith for this incredible award. I never thought I would win an award for losing my gate, but it just goes to show how crazy Extreme E can be! I was actually afraid that our fight for podium would be lost when a lot of fresh air and mud came in from the right side. But then we finished with a trophy, some champagne and a Zenith DEFY Extreme (watch) on my wrist,” said Ekström after receiving the award from Christine Giampaoli Zonca.

Related Content: Molly Taylor: Star of the “Moment of the Year” at Extreme E

Undoubtedly, the first 100% electric off-road category is fortunate to have the talent of the Swede aboard the ODYSSEY 21, as he has proven to be a sustainability forerunner, as well as having enough endorsement to compete in a motorsports division as important as the one founded by Alejandro Agag.

Ekström has just written his name in the motorsport history books after becoming the first champion of Pure ETCR, the first fully electrified touring car category, also with the Cupra team. There, he battled until the end of the season to decide the championship in his favor on the Pau Arnos track in France.

Written by | Ronald Ortega

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In Group B Round 2, the Swedish driver showed all his skill behind the steering wheel without give any inch to his rival, Jordi Gené, who behind Ekström was the perfect teammate to given the goals he has for the championship, sacrificing his candidacy to be crowned as Champion in Pau-Arnos.

This means that only three drivers left in the race for absolute glory (Ekström, Mikel Azcona and Jean-Karl Vernay). On the other hand, Cupra’s Spaniard also dominated in Group A Round 2 to continue to pressure his teammate. However, the Swede is the one who has the best possible to be the king.

Ekström only needs to finish fifth in DHL SuperFinal B to make history in this new electrified vehicle series, who will start from pole position after leading Time Trial B on his first lap on the track with a time of 1: 26.187, to be faster than Phillip Eng aboard his Romeo Ferraris -M1RA Giulia ETCR, who stopped the timer 0.091 seconds behind the Swede.

Related content: Pure ETCR: Azcona and Ekström dominate Friday in Pau-Arnos while the first championship candidate falls

Vernay and Azcona need a practically perfect Sunday if they want to snatch the title from Ekström, in fact, a retirement would be ideal for them. The Swede has 273 points, the French has 244 points, while the Spanish closes the contenders title trio with 238 points.

About Pure ETCR

PURE ETCR is the world’s first all-electric, multi-brand, touring car series, and gives the world’s largest and most-recognisable brands the chance to fight for an official electric Manufacturers’ title. Underpinning this all-new race series is a forward-thinking technical concept, set out by ETCR creators WSC Group, aimed at showing off the most extraordinary performance elements of the world’s fastest-accelerating touring cars and creating exciting on-track battles.

Written by | Ronald Ortega

The post Mattias Ekström Has Everything On His Side to be The First Pure ETCR Champion appeared first on Green Racing News.

Now, before that point, Azcona had his time to shine with an amazing performance totally necessary on track in Pool A Battle to obtain the best result. In addition, his teammate, Dániel Nagy, opened the door and gave up his position, knowing that the team’s goals are above everything else. However, his skill behind the steering wheel has led him to be in the stellar battle.

To give more excitement and adrenaline to the championship, the leader of Pure ETCR opening season is another teammate, Ekström, leaving the cards on the table for a great fight that will define the first champion next sunday, probably with one of them as King of the Weekend. However, he really can’t (no way) dismiss the rest of the candidates who have the opportunity to be champions.

Friday’s session had a touch of nervousness. Even when Azcona’s level was outstanding, in the free practice before the Battle, Oli Webb (Giulia by Romeo Ferraris) was faster than him, just by 0.082 seconds, leaving the expectation on top because the CUPRA X Zengo Motorsport man had to race with steady hand to dominate, and it has been so far.

Pool B Battle was an authentic heart attack fight that left out one of the five candidates for the title: Rodrigo Baptista. Now, the fight will be on fire between Mikel Azcona, Mattias Ekströs, Jean-Karl Vernay and Philipp Eng.

Related content: Bercella Developed Natural Fibers for Giulia ETCR by Romeo Ferraris

Without a doubt, the first 100% electric touring car series has exceeded expectations and aims to be even better in the next edition. On the other hand, regarding the fight for the title, prior to the weekend in Pau-Arnos, Azcona shares his opinion about who could be the champion.

“(It will be) A CUPRA driver certainly. I hope it’s me, but at the same time Mattias is very strong and is leading the points, so if I can’t win, I hope it’s him. It’s quite strange to be battling against a driver that I’ve never actually raced against this year. We share a car so it’s not possible to be drawn in the same Pool. If I could race against him then I’m sure I could take some points away from him, but that’s not possible. If he has a problem with his car, it probably affects me too, but we’ve been very reliable all year, so I hope that continues”.

Writte by | Ronald Ortega

The post Pure ETCR: Azcona and Ekström Dominate in Pau-Arnos, while First Championship Candidate Falls appeared first on Green Racing News.

One of these is Cupra, with experienced driver Mattias Ekström, who revealed during an interview how the work is carried out inside a team competing at the highest level.

One of the aspects making team work more complex is that they can only have eight people, to reduce the environmental impact of each day as much as possible. An engineer, a manager, four mechanics and two drivers are the only members required for this titanic effort.

Related content: Photography: One Way to Deliver the Extreme E Excitement

“When necessary, everyone on the team helps out, even the pilots. Every hand counts. It’s a team philosophy that has served us well during testing to perform well,” revealed Ekström who alongside Extreme E also races in PURE ETCR.

“If you look at the floor you can see a cooling fan, the fire extinguisher, the protections, everything the mechanics need. It may look like chaos, but it’s not. It’s an organized chaos,” added the Cupra representative.

The Teams’ Hideout

Each payroll has a paddock of the same size. It is a sort of tent where all the tools required during a race must be kept. In that area, Ekström detailed that it is very similar to a camping shelter and is all the space the teams are allowed. “The car is very big, with a width of 2.20 meters, so you have to make the most of every square millimeter,” he stressed.

The Swede commented that the backstage is a key place within Cupra’s command, as this is where decisions are made and bets are placed on a specific strategy. In the same place is the charger, necessary to supply energy to the batteries of the Odyssey 21. 

For Ekström, however, the most “romantic” place in the entire camp is the smallest cabin used by the drivers to change. Despite the few meters he has to change into his suit, he calls it “a luxury” to get in there and concentrate before the races.

He concludes that the Extreme E organization has hit the key point to conquer the fans by mixing the thrill of motorsport racing and the awareness of people to protect the environment, extremely hit by climate change.

Written by I Jhonattan González

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Mattias Ekström, the current series leader, gave a very curious answer on how he was going about fine-tuning details ahead of the race in France, which replaced South Korea as the venue for the decisive stage.

Jokingly, the Swede told the category’s official portal that he will use Google and Youtube to learn about the Gallic track. “I don’t even know where the track is,” he joked. “I got to know not long ago, just before Hungaroring, that we were going there.

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“I’ll use those tools on the web and try to learn a little bit. I’m going there with an open mind and open eyes,” the CUPRA representative added.

Regarding his vehicle, he pointed out that they will try in advance to get the best set-up to win the race and clinch the title in the tournament’s debut.

Ekström’s main rival for the crown is Hyundai Motorsport N’s Jean-Karl Vernay, for whom the venue will be a home event. Mikel Azcona and Jordi Gene, plus Romeo Ferraris-M1RA driver Rodrigo Baptista are the other contenders for glory.

The final day of the PURE ETCR will take place from October 15-17.

The Track

The circuit near the city of Pau, southwest France, is hosting international touring car races for the first time and is one of the most advanced tracks in Europe when it comes to electric technology.

A series of improvements to the circuit in 2018 provided pit boxes with permanent electric charging stations, as part of its electric vehicle-ready infrastructure, as it aims to become a zero-emissions facility in the near future.

France was designated by the PURE ETCR organizers for the final day, due to the heavy travel restrictions imposed by COVID-19 countries, a situation that jeopardized the on-time arrival of all the machinery, which was to be transferred by sea to Korea.

Written by I Jhonattan González

The post Mattias Ekström: A Peculiar Way to Prepare for the PURE ETCR Final appeared first on Green Racing News.

The CUPRA X Zengo Motorsport driver has led the championship since the second race at Motorland Aragon, and from there, his dominance on the European tracks has left everyone impressed. However, a small setback at the last round of the year will cost them weeks of hard work in their quest for glory.

The calm and thoughtful approach regarding the drivers’ championship was evident at the Hungaroring, when the Hungarian race took place from August 20 to 22. There, Ekström confessed that he raced with one eye on the title, and a mindset where unnecessary risk-taking was not part of his driving strategy.

Related content: Extreme E Drivers Special: Mattias Ekström

A contact with Augusto Farfus during Round 2, however, cost him the lead of the Hungarian event, which went to Spaniard Mikel Azcona, although the race stewards considered that the responsibility for the incident between the two was on the Portuguese driver, and he was penalized with six points.

“I understand what (Farfus) was trying to do. He was trying to win, he saw a gap and, as Ayrton Senna said, if you don’t look for a gap, you’re not a racing driver”, he said of the on-track mishap. “But if he was in my position, at the top of the championship, he wouldn’t have tried. I know my goal and I have to protect my points everywhere I can. I’m looking forward to the final round,” he finished.

Mattias Ekström’s Final Battle

From October 15 to 17, the Pure ETCR will bring the curtain down, when the 100% electric touring cars visit France to race at the Pau Arnos circuit, located about 20 kilometers west of the city of Pau. It has an ondulating layout of 3.030 kilometers and a distance between edges of 24 meters.

There, Mattias Ekström will have to drive with a cool head to write his name in the category’s history. Jean-Karl Vernay, Mikel Azcona, Jordi Gené and Rodrigo Baptista will try to prevent him from doing so, as they also have a chance to win.

Written by | Ronald Ortega

The post Will Mattias Ekström become the First Pure ETCR Champion? appeared first on Green Racing News.

For a second day out of three so far, the Swede earned the Goodyear #FollowTheLeader jacket, which identifies the most outstanding racer.

Ekström, representing Team CUPRA by Zengo Motorsport, increased his lead from 22 to 24 points in the series ahead of Hyundai’s Jean-Karl Vernay, who finished fourth at the Copenhagen event, due to a smart decision on the DHL SuperFinal A’s last round, which was described by many as conservative.

Related content: Pure ETCR: Philipp Eng Dominated the Weekend in Denmark

“I’m pretty happy with my weekend. I finished third and increased my lead in points over Jean-Karl Vernay, but of course, I would have liked to win the Super Final,” said Ekström. 

He admitted that he was “too conservative on the last lap after brushing the wall, but I had a lot to lose at that moment, and not finishing would have been much worse.”

 “We have to learn from it and turn the page. I was the fastest qualifier, which proves we have speed. Congratulations to Philipp (Eng) and Luca (Filippi); I’m looking forward to race against them again for the second half of the season,” added the driver, who also set the fastest lap of the entire weekend.

A Great Debut

Philipp Eng came out on top in last weekend’s race with a bang on the track. The Austrian was in the Romeo Ferraris for the first time and won his debut race.

The Italian team’s dominance was total, as second place was also taken by one of its own, Luca Filippi. With this triumph, the team breaks the Spanish CUPRA team’s hegemony.

After the Copenhagen event, the return of the PURE ETCR is just around the corner, with the campaign’s next-to-last round taking place at the Hungaroring, Hungary, from August 21 to 22.

Written by I Jhonattan González

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Although the category is just beginning, he joined the team at the end of 2019 as an EV ambassador and as such has played an important role in the development of the e-Racer alongside his teammate Jordi Gené.

Ekström was born in Sweden on July 14, 1978, and is the most successful motorsport competitor in that country for the past 20 years. He has an excellent career in terms of touring cars, since just turned 22 years old, he became a national champion.

Related content: Mattias Ekström “did not expect” Hyundai’s protest

He started karting in 1993. A year later, he also began to compete in the Swedish Renault 5 Turbo Cup, where he was runner-up in 1995 and champion in 1996. He made the leap to the Nordic Touring Car Championship, where he won the 1997 runner-up at the wheel of a Volvo 850, with four victories.

In 1998, he went on to use a Ford Mondeo, with which he achieved four podiums and a final eighth place. With new equipment, the driver added four victories and ten podiums in the 16 races of 1999 at the controls of an all-wheel drive Audi A4, to win the championship against Fredrik Ekblom.

Among his most important international achievements are two Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) titles in 2004 and 2007. In addition, he took victory in the 24 Hours of Spa with Audi.

Rallycross is one of his favorite tournaments, where he achieved glory as World Champion in 2016 with his own EKS team. The good path in this series is inherited from his father, Bengt Ekström, who was a rallycross driver at the European level.

A new electrified challenge

Mattias Ekström will have several major challenges in the coming months. Along with his arrival at the PURE ETCR, the pilot will be at the Dakar Rally with Audi, a team that will revolutionize the tournament with the bet on an electric vehicle. He will share the squad with Carlos Sainz and Stéphane Peterhansel, two pilots with experience.

“The Dakar is undoubtedly one of the most exciting adventures of my career. Tackling this exciting project together with the team, with whom I have celebrated my greatest successes, is something fantastic.

Mattias Ekström

“Even though I’m going to be 43 years old, compared to Carlos and Stéphane I feel like a junior. In this sport you need a lot of experience in every way, and I still have a lot to learn. But I’m really looking forward to it,” he added.

Audi aims to break the mold by being the first car manufacturer to fight for victory in the general classification of the legendary Dakar Rally with a vehicle equipped with an electrified powertrain.

Written by I Jhonattan González

The post Mattias Ekström, a Swedish giant who will rumble in the PURE ETCR and the Dakar Rally appeared first on Green Racing News.

“I must admit I did not expect the protest from Hyundai that triggered my disqualification. Adamo (Hyundai Director) is always so interested in winning and having that spirit. Anyway, I will not change and I will not do the same, he will not get a protest from me. He will not have that pleasure from me,” said the fellow Extreme E rider.

Even with the sanction, the Cupra rider recovered, finishing in second place after starting sixth.

Ekström explained that he did everything possible to try to pass his opponents, but they were good at defending and even though he succeeded, he did not have enough time to catch up with Jean-Karl Vernay and overtake him.

It may also interest you: Jordi Gené compares ETCR cars with TCR

“I think that starting last it was always going to be difficult with so few laps. Anyway I’m happy with my driving this weekend, “he said.

The Swede’s movement into corners 6-7-8 was one of the most shocking moments of the race, as Ekström made the most of his rallycross experience to brake the car sideways and keep it on the track to complete a spectacular move.

“I knew that I had to pass right there and then, so I took action and I have to say it worked out. I was a little bit sideways, but all in all I stayed on track, so no reason to worry about it,” he added.

Written by | Gabriel Sayago

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