Mattias Ekström will compete in the Challenger category for the first time since 2023 when he runs this weekend’s Baja TT Dehesa Extremadura. The race will also be the debut for the EKS X3+, a new T3 car designed by his EKS RX rallycross team.

Ekström ran nearly the entire 2023 World Rally-Raid Championship in T3, driving a Can-Am and finishing seventh in points. He dropped down from T1 when Audi opted to do some soul searching following a disastrous Dakar Rally, joining South Racing for the next three rounds. While he failed to win any races overall, he notched five stage victories with a best finish of second at the Sonora Rally.

His most recent start in the class was a tenth at the 2023 Desafío Ruta 40, where he won the Prologue and a stage but was out of overall contention due to a broken differential. Ekström rejoined Audi afterward and has been in T1 (now Ultimate) since.

He currently races for Ford M-Sport, finishing third at the Dakar Rally before retiring from the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge due to illness. His sickness also forced him to miss Race of Champions in March.

Ekström and navigator Emil Bergkvist’s #300 is one of 17 teams competing in Challenger at Extremadura.

Featured image credit: Mattias Ekström