Name: Mattias Ekström
Nationality: Swedish
Date of birth: July 14, 1978
Debut (DTM): 2001
ROC record: 2005: Debut in The Race Of Champions. Winner of The ROC Nations Cup for Team Scandinavia with Tom Kristensen
2006: Winner of The Race Of Champions 2007: Winner of The Race Of Champions 2008: ROC Nations Cup finalist for Team Scandinavia with Tom Kristensen, 2009: Winner of The Race Of Champions
Sweden's Mattias Ekström is a two-time DTM champion and a three-time winner of The Race Of Champions. Ekström was the Swedish Touring Car champion in 1999 and began competing for Audi in Germany’s DTM touring car series in 2001. He won his first DTM race the following year before winning two championships for Audi in 2004 and 2007. Ekström has proved himself to be an all-rounder who is equally comfortable in all the cars used in the ROC – due in part to eight starts in the World Rally Championship and a few stints in NASCAR. Ekström has reached at least one final in every year he has competed in The Race Of Champions, starting in 2005 when he partnered Tom Kristensen to ROC Nations Cup glory for Scandinavia. The next year he came back and beat Sébastien Loeb in The Race of Champions final. Since then he has gone from strength to strength, winning in 2007 at Wembley and in 2009 at Beijing.
Fast facts:
- Mattias actually failed the first written part of his driver’s exam.
- Ekström is the first Swede to compete in NASCAR following his appearance at the Infineon Raceway in June 2010. Replacing Brian Vickers in the No 83 Red Bull Toyota, Ekström finished 21st overall.
- Mattias has defeated F1 legend Michael Schumacher in two different ROC finals, in 2007 and 2009.
Best quote:
“The Nürburgring is a great place to stand on top of the podium. There were 86,000 spectators there and you get a massive buzz from winning in that sort of atmosphere.”
Mattias explains what gives him the drive to succeed in DTM.
Official website: mattiasekstrom.com
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