Two-time DTM champion Ekstrom and teammate Stephane Peterhansel traded the top spot for most of the 395km Stage 8 between Al Dawadimi and Wadi Ad Dawasir, with only Sebastien Loeb able to prevent the contest from turning into an all-Audi affair.
Peterhansel appeared on course for a 49th career stage win in the cars category after Ekstrom dropped nearly three minutes off the lead on Waypoint 8 of 10, behind the third Audi of Carlos Sainz.
However, the Swedish driver was rapid in the final 73km run to the finish line, quickly turning the tables to score a Dakar stage win in only his second participation in the event.
The 43-year-old ended up just 49s ahead of Peterhansel as Audi secured its maiden 1-2 finish in the Dakar, with Sainz ending up fourth in the remaining RS Q e-tron.
Prodrive/Bahrain driver Loeb remarkably recovered from an early puncture and even held the lead through Waypoints 4 and 5, but couldn’t keep up with the pace of the Audis later in the stage, eventually…
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