Mikkelsen fears Monte Carlo

Andreas Mikkelsen has signed with Skoda for the 2011 IRC season. The Norwegian will drive the same Fabia S2000 as that of Juho Hanninen, the 2010 Champion of the discipline. After competing in seven events in the 2010 season, Marcus Grönholm's protégé will begin his first full IRC season with one of the toughest events on the calendar.

“This will be completely new to me,” commented Andreas Mikkelsen on his official website. “It's a famous event, but it's also the most difficult on the IRC calendar because you have asphalt, snow, ice and dirt, sometimes all in one special stage. I spoke to Marcus Grönholm about the Monte Carlo, because he knows the event very well, having won it. He doesn?t really like it because it?s almost impassable and quite scary. »

The Skoda driver will therefore not set too ambitious goals for his first rally of the season. “My challenge will be to reach the finish line,” he warned. “I'm not thinking about making a top three or a top five, I just want to go through the courses without making any mistakes and see what happens. I think we can get there and hope to leave Monte Carlo with a few points. This is very important at the start of the season. »

However, while Andreas Mikkelsen is cautious about his approach to the Monte Carlo Rally, he remains optimistic about his next season with Skoda. “I'm looking forward to this year,” he added. “Being in a top car with a top team behind me has never happened to me before. We have a lot of testing programs that will give me a lot of riding, that will help me a lot. I am convinced that we will be able to fight for rally victories. It should be a great year. »