KYB Corporation has renewed its sponsorship agreement with FIA World Rallycross Championship Team EKS.
The Audi S1 EKS RX Quattro uses KYB’s electronic power steering (EPS) which is well known and respected in motorsports. The KYB logo is visible on both the EKS cars and service truck. EKS is made up of Swedish team owner Mattias Ekström and Norwegian Andreas Bakkerud.
Mattias Ekström won the championship in 2016 and finished second in the 2017 season. He loves speed, having grown up with rallycross he spent a large part of his youth in RX paddocks with his father, who was also a driver. Mattias is now 39 and has raced his way across the globe for over 20 years with racing in his genes. EKS is a celebration of everything that Mattias loves about racing; the passion, enthusiasm and joy.
Andreas Bakkerud is 26 and after 8 years of competing in karting, he made the jump to rallycross at the age of 15. This was a smart career move, as he’s been very successful. He remains the only driver in World RX history to have scored maximum points at all stages of an event weekend, winning all four qualifying sessions, the semi-final and the final in Norway in 2016. He finished the 2017 season in 6th place overall, when he was driving a Ford Focus RS.
EKS has been competing in WRX since 2014. In the 2016 season, EKS won the Team Championship, raising hopes for the team’s future prospects. In 2017 the team finished third overall. KYB has been providing the team with EPS since 2015 and continues to provide technical support alongside the new sponsorship agreement.
Rallycross started in 1967 and WRX began in 2014, consisting of 12 two day events across the world, on tracks that are a mix of rallying and circuit racing. Drivers are equipped with RX Supercars with over 600bhp and the ability to accelerate from 0-60mph in less than two seconds. KYB posts regular updates on social media about EKS team activity.