Skoda UK Motorsport signed rising star Andreas Mikkelsen to drive their Sokda Fabia S2000 in this season’s Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) series. The fast and fearless driver started his association with the UK team with dramatic exit on the very first stage of the IRC’s 2011 opening round the IRC Monte Carlo Rally held in January.
With an abundance of talent and rallying instinct, Mikkelsen’s new team never doubted its choice of the youngster and co-driver Ola Floene, and this has been backed up by a win in Corsica at the weekend. Although this was not a round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge series, the outing served as an invaluable testing opportunity for the whole team.
The asphalt-based Ronde De La Giraglia event was held in the northern Cap Corse area of the island with ten demanding stages for the crew to sink their teeth into.
Asphalt stages are not all alike. Those used for this event were reportedly smooth, twisty, bumpy and very abrasive – a wide range of differing conditions for the engineers and Mikkelsen to overcome to set fast stage times.
Don’t forget that this was to be a test for Mikkelsen, and he wasn’t allowed to simply put the hammer down to try to win the rally in the first stage. A detailed testing plan had to be adhered to: Andreas started conservatively and gradually increased his pace, while the team experimented with various damper and spring settings and engine mapping settings throughout the event.
After gaining important testing results and settings for use later in the season (and to benchmark conditions and set-up for the upcoming Isla Canarias round and the third round in Corsica the following month), Mikkelsen found himself at the top of the winners’ podium. With the confidence and speed he showcased throughout 2010, he drove this weekend’s event maturely to win outright by 02min 28sec.
“The main purpose of this rally was to do some miles as part of our preparation for Gran Canarias, and for us it was really good training in an environment which was a proper rally, not only testing,” commented Mikkelsen. “With the stages here in Corsica repeated, we could gradually increase our speed without taking any risks because we got to know the roads so well. We started this event at a normal pace and by the last stage we were pushing quite a bit and the feeling is fantastic with the Fabia S2000 now. It’s been a really good rally and I feel like we are back where we should be. It’s great to record Škoda UK Motorsport’s first victory too!”
Meanwhile the IRC series has been gaining more momentum with a bevy of highly acclaimed drivers committing themselves to compete on selected rounds this season.
The most interesting name to appear on the entry list for the next event is that of Patrik Sandell, who has moved from the SWRC (S2000 World Rally Cup) with his Skoda Fabia S2000. Sandell has stated this series to be more competitive than the SWRC, and I tend to agree, as there are not just five or six SWRC cars per event but in excess of 20.
Mikkelsen is one of the fastest drivers in rallying at the moment, and of the top five or so quickest S2000 drivers in the world at the moment. He does have stiff competition, though. Portugal’s Bruno Magalhaes (Puegeot 207 S2000) is not a driver to be discounted on his on-form days, and with him growing in confidence and experience each passing event he will soon be a contender for regular podium results.
The same can be said of Thierry Neuville (Peugeot 207 S2000), as this youngster is truly a rising talent. Like Jari-Matti Latvala used to be in the WRC and Mikkelsen in the IRC, he needs to drive more consistently and maturely to record the results he needs to satisfy his sponsors and to jot down on his CV.
Should the PROTON Satria Neo S2000 become more reliable this season, then P.G. Andersson will be a driver to threaten the established IRC podium regulars. However, the PROTON seems unlikely to challenge the Peugeot, Fords and Skodas this season. The factory Skoda team with Hanninen looking to dominate this year’s series will be pushed haerd by team-mate Jan Kopecky, and Mikkelsen will need to target one or both of these drivers if he is to succeed. However, there is still the Guy Wilks (Skoda Fabia S2000) threat too… Bryan Bouffier? Him too!
This is all a recipe for a tremendous remainder of the season!