The 60-year-old rally legend sustained multiple spinal fractures in a crash throughout January’s Dakar Rally. He rolled his Audi on the ninth stage of the Saudi Arabian event, resulting in T5 and T6 vertebral fractures that put him out of the rally.
With the two-time World Rally Championship winner nonetheless in restoration, Sainz’s Audi Dakar team-mate and recent Race of Champions winner Ekstrom has stepped as much as be part of Laia Sanz on the Spanish group.
It marks a return to the sequence for the newly-appointed World Rallycross Championship sporting director, who recorded a greatest end of second throughout the championship’s inaugural season in 2021 with the Abt Cupra XE group on the Island X Prix alongside Jutta Kleinschmidt.
Sainz Sr will nonetheless play a non-driving position in Sainz XE’s effort and is predicted to journey to Saudi Arabia to assist the group that carries his identify for this month’s season-opening Desert X Prix, because it seeks a primary sequence victory.
“Mattias Ekstrom is likely one of the greatest rallycross, observe and off-road drivers on this planet,” stated Sainz XE group principal Joan Orus.
“His illustrious racing report will certainly assist us additional develop as a group. Our goal is to win and we all know that we are able to combat for the title if all of us do our work proper.
“We begin the 12 months in a tricky state of affairs with the information that Carlos won’t be within the automobile in Saudi Arabia, however we nonetheless really feel now we have discovered the very best driver to finish the group with Laia.”
The injured Sainz has full religion in his Swedish substitute, who has two DTM titles and a World Rallycross crown to his identify.
“I consider he is likely one of the greatest and most multifaceted race drivers on this planet,” he stated.
Laia Sanz, Carlos Sainz, Acciona | Sainz XE Staff
Photograph by: Colin McMaster / Motorsport Images
“I’ve raced in opposition to him in Excessive E and know him as my team-mate in Audi within the raids, so I’m conscious of his potential and strengths.”
Ekstrom’s return follows Chip Ganassi Racing saying an all-new lineup with Amanda Sorensen and fellow American RJ Anderson, who substitute Sara Worth and Kyle LeDuc.
The third season of Excessive E kicks off on 11-12 March with an additional 4 occasions scheduled all year long together with a go to to Scotland on 13-14 Might.