Not a lot of people know him or have even heard of him, but Mattias Ekström is one of the world’s most exceptional drivers who tends to win championship titles in every racing series he competes in. So after a long and glorious DTM career he entered FIA Rallycross championship sort of to have fun and blow off steam, and guess what, he is now the world champion for the 2016 season.

The Swede, who is mainly a circuit driver, always had a soft spot for rallying, driving his souped-up Subaru WRX in the woods around his country house in the breaks he had in between DTM seasons. That is not particularly surprising, as Ekström’s father, Bengt, raced in the European Championship in the 1980s and 1990s, and finished the 1990 European Championship in third place. Even so, when the opportunity presented itself for him to enter Rallycross he was at first doubtful: “Rallycross was always too dirty for me. I prefer things being neat and clean.”

But enter he did and he soon got the hang of it, so much so that after finishing fifth at the Estering event this weekend he had enough points to secure the title of the 2016 World Rallycross Champion. We are really happy for Mattias Ekström but slightly worried about Rallycross. You see, when Audi wins are a racing series, they tend to keep doing that for the foreseeable future. Just look at endurance racing. And motorsport gets boring really quickly when one person or one team just endlessly wins.

“This may be the best day in my motorsport career,” says Ekström. “I’ve had so many sweet moments with Audi Sport in the DTM, but this here is really, really special. We started from scratch three years ago. In October 2013, there was nothing. Only few people can imagine what my team and I have built since then. Obviously, I owe a big debt of gratitude to my employer, Audi Sport. My bosses gave me permission to compete at the Estering in order to maximize my chances of winning the title. That couldn’t be taken for granted, and I’m very, very thankful for this. I hope that by clinching the big trophy, I was able to put a smile on their faces.”