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Ekström retired from Swedish rally

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Audi works driver Mattias Ekström, who had secured good results during the first two stages of the Rally Sweden, the second round of the World Rally Championship, failed to confirm these results on Sunday. On the way to the first special stage, already, the local hero was hampered by electronics problems.

Although the failure was quickly solved, Ekström’s Rally Sweden ended soon afterwards. Just four kilometres into the stage, Ekström lost control, his Skoda Fabia WRC swerved and crashed into a wall of snow.

“During this accident, the front of our car including the radiator was seriously damaged”, said Ekström. “Unfortunately, we weren’t able to continue, due to these damages. It’s a real pity because we were on a good way to scoring World Championship points in both the drivers’ and the manufacturers’ rankings.” Up to his retirement, the 2004 DTM Champion had set good times and held fifth place in the overall rankings, thus proving that he also is able to cope with difficult rally conditions such as ice and snow.