Mattias Ekström: “I will be disappointed for a long time for what happened”

Dakar 2024 | Stage 8 | AL DUWADIMI > HAIL
January 15 ^th 2024 - 15:47 [GMT + 3]

Yesterday, Mattias Ekström lost hope of overall victory due to his suspension breaking, but today, between Al Duwadimi and Ha'il, he took his second stage win of the year after his victory on the prologue. However, this success does not lessen his disappointment at no longer being able to challenge for the podium in Yanbu.  

“We had a good stage. We had one bit of speeding, I don’t know how much the penalty will be, so let’s see. We had a good stage. I enjoyed it from the beginning to the end. We had no big hiccups, so it was a good day. Yesterday, on the left rear suspension, there were three nuts that were loose and when they fell off, it broke the rear left suspension and then we had to wait for assistance to change the parts. For me, it’s very embarrassing that as a team we are not able to put the car back in top condition when we were in such a good condition after the first week, to start already after thirty kilometres. For sure, it’s devastating for Emil and myself and for the entire team, when you have the chance to go for a Dakar podium. For me it’s the toughest and the greatest you can achieve in motorsports. I will be disappointed for a long time for what happened yesterday, but it’s already history now and we have to take all the experience we can from this rally, but definitely it’s a hard one to accept and to swallow”.