Andreas Mikkelsen Fansite: Hänninen

Showing posts with label Hänninen. Show all posts

Showing posts with label Hänninen. Show all posts

Meeke: Hänninen and Mikkelsen are world class

Kris Meeke has singled out performances by Juho Hänninen and Andreas Mikkelsen on the Donnelly Group Circuit of Ireland Rally, describing them as “very, very impressive”.

The former Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion was speaking following his visit to the second stage of the event, which passed less than two kilometres from his home near Dungannon in Northern Ireland.

“It was the first time I’ve watched a rally in a long, long time and I have to say I was very, very impressed with what I saw,” said Meeke, who won the IRC title in 2009 driving for Peugeot UK. “Hänninen and Mikkelsen are definitely on top of their games and you can argue that nobody else in the world are as quick as they are in Super 2000 cars.”

Hänninen eventually won the event, his ninth victory in the IRC, with Mikkelsen claiming second in a similar ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000.

Source: irc series

Andy goes down in Titanic fight

“Andy Mick” and Juho Hanninen began an epic fight in the Circuit of Ireland on a special stage around Belfast's Harland and Wolff shipyard, where the doomed Titanic was built 100 years ago.

They went on to scrap for every second on the tight and twisty lanes around Belfast and Armagh.

But then Mikkelsen, driving for The Sun’s motorsport partners Skoda UK, made a crucial mistake.

He left his braking too late into a left hand bend on Stage 12 and hurtled sideways into a straw bale.

The crash looked innocuous. But one side of the car was staved in and Mikkelsen was so dazed that for a moment he did not know where he was.

It was 40 seconds before he and navigator Ola Floene got going again.

Not only was the rally lost but Mikkelsen then had to struggle through the remainder of the rally feeling semi-conscious.

But he managed to get to the end and lost only a few more seconds to triumphant Finn Hanninen, driving a factory Skoda Fabia.

Mikkelsen said of the shunt: “I don’t remember too much about it, to be honest, but I know it was quite hard.

“It was very slippery and I just lost the car. Afterwards I was feeling not so good and was not 100 per cent. I just had to get to the finish.”

Mikkelsen’s second place means he is still leading the Intercontinental Rally Challenge.

He said: “It was a rally I would have liked to have won.

“We were close and having a good fight.

“It’s a shame what happened but, OK, I have got a lot of points and things are looking good for the championship.

“Juho had a fantastic weekend so well done to him.”

Czech ace Jan Kopecky was third to make it a Skoda 1-2-3.

Frenchman Mathieu Arzeno was first Peugeot home in fourth followed by local hero Craig Breen in his Pug.

Source: The Sun

After SS9: Crazy push puts Mikkelsen back in the fight

Andreas Mikkelsen has cut Juho Hänninen’s lead of the Donnelly Group Circuit of Ireland Rally to 4.2s despite a “big moment” on the ninth stage of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge event.

Mikkelsen repeated the second run of the 25-kilometre Redrock stage in a time of 13m26.2s with Hänninen recording a 13m31.0s in his similar ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000.

“We pushed everything we had,” said Norwegian Mikkelsen. “We had a big moment near the end when I had to save the car five times on a straight. I was in a ditch and bouncing off a hedge. It was absolutely crazy, we need to push.”

Hänninen said: “It was much more dry than in the morning so no drama. I have to keep the pressure on to keep Andreas behind.”

>> Gallery: Andreas Mikkelsen Circuit of Ireland Rally 2012<<

Jan Kopecký is adopting a low-risk strategy to maintain his third place overall in his Fabia. He was third fastest through the stage, 11.5s slower than Mikkelsen.

Craig Breen was fourth quickest in his Saintéloc Peugeot 207 S2000 and is now 21.0s behind ŠKODA Ireland’s Robert Barrable in the battle for fifth position overall. Breen said changes to his rear damper settings in service had improved the handling of his car.

Sepp Wiegand lost several seconds when he braked too late for a junction and charged a fence in his ŠKODA Auto Deutschland Fabia.

“The window is broken, we lost a lot of time,” said the young German driver. “I pushed a bit harder but maybe the tyres were a little cold.”

IRC 2WD Cup leader Marty McCormack suffered an overshoot at a square-right junction. The Northern Irishman is nursing a gearbox problem but still managed to go faster than category rival Tommy Doyle. Garry Jennings continues to top the IRC Production Cup standings in his Ralliart Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX.

Source: irc series.com

Hanninen edges away in Ireland after slight error by Mikkelsen

Juho Hanninen's Circuit of Ireland lead is up to nine seconds after a mistake by Andreas Mikkelsen amid a colossal battle between Skoda's two Intercontinental Rally Challenge champions.

After Hanninen took the lead on Friday night, Mikkelsen retaliated on Saturday's opener - where his rival confessed to being too cautious - and regained first place by 0.6 seconds.

But a big push by Hanninen on the Drumhillery stage, where Mikkelsen felt his soft tyres were the wrong choice, took the Finn back to the top by 1.6s, and when Mikkelsen then overshot a corner on Hollow, Hanninen found himself with the biggest lead anyone has enjoyed so far on the ultra-close event.

Jan Kopecky described the top two's pace as "crazy" and is now a minute behind in third in the second works Skoda.

Alastair Fisher crashed his M-Sport Ford on the first stage of the day, so fourth placed now belongs to top Peugeot driver Mathieu Arzeno (Sainteloc). After his penalties for being late into service on Friday evening, Arzeno's team-mate Craig Breen is now sixth, between Skoda men Robert Barrable and Sepp Wiegand.

Seven further stages remain, split across two loops later on Saturday.

Source: Autosport

Mikkelsen versus Hanninen again in Ireland

Once again, it's a two-Skoda breakaway at the front of a 2012 Intercontinental Rally Challenge round, as the series' most recent champions Andreas Mikkelsen and Juho Hanninen go head to head on the Circuit of Ireland.

Mikkelsen made small mistakes on both of the first loop's slippery full-length stages, brushing a gate on Legane, yet still managed to maintain a 2.8-second lead over Hanninen.

First on the road, Hanninen felt he lost too much tyre temperature waiting for the slightly delayed Legane stage to get underway, but was on the pace soon enough. Mikkelsen was also running heavier cuts on his tyres than Hanninen.

"We had a big wait on the startline - I don't know what the delay was," said Hanninen. "But then luckily it was drying up near the finish, so we gained more and more."

Canarias winner Jan Kopecky is already half a minute behind in third in the second works Skoda.

"I have to say I'm not happy with my driving," said Kopecky. "It's not my day today."

Craig Breen was best of the home contingent in fourth, with just eight seconds covering the WRC Academy champion, his Sainteloc team-mate Mathieu Arzeno, and the Ford of last week's Portugal WRC Academy winner Alastair Fisher after SS3. But then Breen arrived late into service following a fuel pump issue on the road section, so is set to pick up penalties.

Robert Barrable is next up, while Sepp Wiegand dropped back from this group with an SS3 puncture.

Source: Max Rally

IRC - Mikkelsen gets new co-driver for Irish test

2 April 2012 - 21h44, by Olivier Ferret

Andreas Mikkelsen is testing for this week’s Donnelly Group Circuit of Ireland Rally today but his regular co-driver, Ola Fløene, wasn’t by his side when he got behind the wheel of his ŠKODA UK Motorsport Fabia Super 2000.

Andreas Mikkelsen is testing for this week’s Donnelly Group Circuit of Ireland Rally today but his regular co-driver, Ola Fløene, wasn’t by his side when he got behind the wheel of his ŠKODA UK Motorsport Fabia Super 2000.

Instead, Mikkelsen, the reigning Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion, has called up Juho Hänninen’s regular navigator Mikko Markkula to give Fløene an extra 24 hours at home in Norway as he recovers from a bout of ‘flu that has kept the IRC title-winning co-driver in bed in recent days.

Markkula, who has already finished his pre-event testing programme with Hänninen, kindly agreed to give up his day off – highlighting the great spirit in the ŠKODA family and the close working relationship between ŠKODA Motorsport and the works-supported UK team.

“Juho and Andreas’ pacenotes are quite different, but we agreed to do the notes in English so I didn’t have to learn Norwegian overnight,” said Markkula. “With Juho the pacenotes are in Finnish, but I have done some rallies with English notes, so it won’t be a problem. I know this test road well, as we were here on Saturday. It has everything you’d expect to find on an Irish lane – bumpy, fast, dips, jumps, junctions and gravel – so it’s perfect for testing.”

Overnight rain has made the test road near Aughnacloy wet and slippery – ideal conditions if the weather forecast for day one of the IRC qualifier on Friday night is to be believed.

Conditions are expected to dry today, and the ŠKODA UK Motorsport team plans a full day of testing, including some night running in preparation for Friday’s night stages. It is hoped Fløene will be well enough to partner Mikkelsen when he continues testing on Tuesday.

Source: Motorsport Nextgen

Mikkelsen makes history with Açores victory

Andreas Mikkelsen has made history by becoming the first driver to win three rounds of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge in succession by claiming victory on SATA Rallye Açores today (Saturday).

The ŠKODA Motorsport ace’s winning run extends back to last year when he triumphed in Scotland and Cyprus, rounds 10 and 11 of the 2011 IRC season. His triumph on the mid-Atlantic archipelago brings his tally to three in a row.

"This is the perfect start to the season, I am so happy for the team and this is perfect result for ŠKODA,” said Mikkelsen, who headed fellow ŠKODA driver Juho Hänninen and Peugeot’s Bryan Bouffier at the end of almost 200 kilometres of thrilling action.

⇰ Andreas Mikkelsen Sata Rallye Azores 2012 Gallery

Luca Rossetti actually won the first four IRC events he contested between 2007 and 2008 to earn the nickname ‘Mr 100 Per Cent’. However, because they weren’t on consecutive rallies, Mikkelsen takes the record, having been tied on two wins in a row with Giandomenico Basso, Jan Kopecký, Freddy Loix, Kris Meeke and Rossetti.

The full list of consecutive IRC winners is as follows:

Andreas Mikkelsen: Scotland and Cyprus 2011 and Açores 2012
Giandomenico Basso: Asturias and Sanremo, 2008
Jan Kopecký: Zlín and Asturias, 2009 and Zlín and Mecsek 2011
Freddy Loix: Madeira and Zlín, 2010
Kris Meeke: Açores and Ypres, 2009
Luca Rossetti: Istanbul and Portugal, 2008

Source: IRC Series

Andreas Mikkelsen wraps up Rally Azores victory

Andreas Mikkelsen made a perfect start to his Intercontinental Rally Challenge title defence by taking a comfortable Rally Azores victory.

The Skoda UK driver led from the outset, and although factory Skoda man Juho Hanninen was right on his tail initially, Mikkelsen started stretching away even before a quick spin on Friday cost his rival some time. In the end, the gap between them was 25 seconds, as Mikkelsen took a third straight win following his Scotland and Cyprus triumphs at the end of 2011.

Bryan Bouffier's third place was secure once fellow Peugeot driver Bruno Magalhaes rolled out on Friday afternoon. The 2011 Monte Carlo winner had no answer to the leading Skodas' pace this weekend.

⇰ Andreas Mikkelsen Sata Rallye Azores 2012 Gallery

German Skoda duo Sepp Wiegand and Hermann Gassner Jr fought for fourth all weekend, with Wiegand finally breaking clear when Gassner made a mistake and sustained a puncture on the penultimate stage.

Source: Autosport

Andreas Mikkelsen closes on Rally Azores win

Andreas Mikkelsen looks assured of victory in the 2012 Intercontinental Rally Challenge's Azores opener, as a clean sweep of stage wins on the event's penultimate loop stretched his advantage.

Skoda UK driver Mikkelsen is now 24 seconds clear of works Skoda man Juho Hanninen, his predecessor as IRC champion, with just two stages to go this afternoon.

Bryan Bouffier (PH Peugeot) continues to cruise towards third place, while Sepp Wiegand (Skoda Deutschland) is back ahead of Hermann Gassner Jr (Red Bull Skoda) in their battle for fourth.

⇰ Andreas Mikkelsen Sata Rallye Azores 2012 Gallery

Leading positions after SS12:

Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
1. Andreas Mikkelsen Skoda UK 1h40m10.2s
2. Juho Hanninen Skoda + 24.0s
3. Bryan Bouffier Peugeot + 1m49.7s
4. Sepp Wiegand Skoda Deutschland + 4m28.3s
5. Hermann Gassner Jr Red Bull Skoda + 4m38.0s
6. Ricardo Moura Mitsubishi + 6m29.5s
7. Oleksandr Salyuk Iurii Chemezov Ford + 8m25.4s
8. Sergio Silva Subaru + 12m09.9s
9. Ruben Rodrigues Mitsubishi + 13m46.4s
10. Miguel Barbosa Mitsubishi + 14m28.7s

Source: Autosport

After SS10: Mikkelsen continues to fly

Andreas Mikkelsen has claimed his seventh stage win on SATA Rallye Açores after topping the times on Saturday’s opening test, the 19.60-kilometre Graminhais run.

The ŠKODA UK Motorsport driver was 1.7s faster than second-placed Juho Hänninen, in a factory Fabia Super 2000, and now leads overall by 17.9s with four stages of this thrilling Intercontinental Rally Challenge season opener remaining.

“This was a nice stage, such a pleasure to drive, it’s fantastic,” said Mikkelsen. “But we have to keep the pressure on and not relax. When you relax it goes very much slower so we try to keep a good pace.”

⇰ Andreas Mikkelsen Sata Rallye Azores 2012 Gallery

Finn Hänninen, meanwhile, admitted he was struggling to keep his Norwegian rival in check: “I really tried. It was slippery a few times and I lost the line but I couldn’t do much better. I will try to keep the pressure on him.”

Running first on the road, Sepp Wiegand said the warmer and drier conditions that have greeted the crews on day three contributed to a loose gravel surface. “In some parts it was very loose and the car was too much oversteer so I lost a bit of time,” said the ŠKODA Auto Deutschland ace.

Nevertheless, the young German has moved ahead of his countryman Hermann Gassner Jr into fourth overall after the Red Bull driver approached a hairpin too quickly and stalled his car’s engine. He was 11.3s slower than Wiegand and now trails his fellow Fabia driver by 1.4s in the overall classification.

Bryan Bouffier maintains his grip on third overall despite admitting to a mistake in his Peugeot 207 S2000 when he spun and had to reverse.

Source: IRC series

Andreas Mikkelsen to lead Rally Azores into final day

Andreas Mikkelsen will take a 16.2-second lead into the final day of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge season-opener in the Azores after heavy rain led to the Friday afternoon stages being truncated.

Stage eight Coroa da Mata was cancelled outright and stage nine Sao Bras to Vila Franca reduced from 16 to six kilometres.

Skoda UK driver Mikkelsen still managed to extend his lead over works rival Juho Hanninen by 0.8s in the brief stage mileage that took place.

Bryan Bouffier's Peugeot remains third, while Hermann Gassner Jr has taken fourth from Sepp Wiegand.

⇰ Andreas Mikkelsen Sata Rallye Azores 2012 Gallery

1. Andreas Mikkelsen Skoda UK 1h05m34.0s
2. Juho Hanninen Skoda + 16.2s
3. Bryan Bouffier Peugeot + 1m01.6s
4. Hermann Gassner Jr Red Bull Skoda + 3m26.3s
5. Sepp Wiegand Skoda Deutschland + 3m36.2s
6. Ricardo Moura Mitsubishi + 4m55.8s
7. Oleksandr Salyuk Iurii Chemezov Ford + 6m43.9s
8. Sergio Silva Subaru + 8m33.2s
9. Ruben Rodrigues Mitsubishi + 10m10.1s
10. Rui Lousado Subaru + 10m14.4s

Source: Autosport

Hanninen in spin as Mikkelsen leads

Juho Hanninen suffered a high-speed spin while trying to chase down Rally Acores leader Andreas Mikkelsen in SS5 on Friday morning.

The Finnish former IRC champion spun on a slippery downhill slope and was forced to reverse back into position, losing 10 seconds on Mikkelsen in the process.

Norwegian Mikkelsen now leads Hanninen by 13.6s.

Bryan Bouffier is third overall in his Peugeot, 6.3s ahead of Bruno Magalhaes, who also had trouble early in the stage.

IRC Production Cup leader Ricardo Moura has dropped down from fifth to seventh behind Sepp Wiegand and Hermann Gassner Jr after admitting he was too cautious in the slippery downhill sections in his Ralliart Lancer.

Skydive Dubai’s Rashid Al-Ketbi is understood to have stopped in the stage with a broken right wheel while Oleksiy Tamrazov failed to complete the run.

Harry Hunt dropped out of the chase for the IRC 2WD Cup laurels with a radiator problem.

Source: Eurosport

IRC Açores day one review: Mikkelsen tops close battle

Season six of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge has got off to a thrilling start with Norway’s Andreas Mikkelsen heading Finn Juho Hänninen by a tight margin of 1.4s following the opening three stages of SATA Rallye Açores today (Thursday).

Local hero Ricardo Moura tops the IRC Production Cup category with Harry Hunt, from the United Kingdom, holding the lead of the IRC 2WD Cup.

Mikkelsen, the reigning IRC champion, made the best possible start to his IRC title defence by winning the day’s first test despite picking up a front-left puncture nearing the end of the run.

Hänninen, who beat Mikkelsen to victory in the Azores last season, went quickest on the second stage to narrow the ŠKODA UK Motorsport driver’s advantage only for the former downhill skier to hit back by beating Hänninen, in his factory Fabia Super 2000, in their head-to-head battle through the Grupo Marques superspecial stage in front of thousands of enthusiastic fans.

⇰ Andreas Mikkelsen Sata Rallye Azores 2012 Gallery

“It’s been a good start and, as expected, we’re having a close battle with Juho,” said Mikkelsen. “We used today to find a good pace that we’re comfortable with, and we’ll continue with that pace tomorrow. With the top five running in reverse order, we’ll start fifth on the road tomorrow so we’ll try to make sure that plays to our advantage. Today was a bit of a warm-up; tomorrow’s a long day and that’s when the proper rally starts.”

Hanninen added: “It was okay, a little slippery in some places today and some fog, but I am happy. For sure, it is going to be a big fight between me and Andreas. He was really speeding today.”

Bryan Bouffier is the leading Peugeot driver in third overall, one place ahead of Portugal’s Bruno Magalhães, who is driving a similar 207 S2000 on the event he won in 2010. Frenchman Bouffier suggested he needed to find more speed in order to take the fight to the leading ŠKODA duo, while Magalhães lost precious seconds with a handbrake problem on stage two.

ŠKODA Auto Deutschland’s rising German star Sepp Wiegand is an impressive fifth overall on his IRC debut and his first appearance in the Azores. He is 1.7s ahead of Moura, who reported a throttle problem and a brush with a barrier in the superspecial. But with the top five overall positions reversed for day two, Wiegand now faces the prospect of sweeping the loose-surface gravel for his rivals running behind.

Wiegand’s countryman Hermann Gassner Jr is seventh overnight in his Red Bull-backed Fabia, one place ahead of Dream Team Ukraine’s Oleksandr Saliuk, who is driving an M-Sport Ford Fiesta S2000 on his maiden outing in the IRC.

Rashid Al-Ketbi is a strong ninth for the Skydive Dubai Rally Team with Saliuk’s team-mate Oleksiy Tamrazov completing the top 10, just ahead of Romania’s Marco Tempestini in a Subaru Impreza R4 STI.

Friday’s action consists of 82.85 kilometres of competitive action and gets underway with the first of six stages at 10:20hrs local time.

Source - News: irc series | Photo: Skoda UK Motorsport FB | Video: AMikkelsenRally

Vlog-cam Andreas Mikkelsen Rally Azores + Shakedown

Andreas Mikkelsen and Juho Hänninen tied equal at Shakedown, ach set times of 1 min 59.1 sec at Shakedown ahead of Rally Azores. Magalhães was third quickest with 2 min 00.9 sec and Bouffier fourth fastest with 2 min 01.3 sec.

Sources: AMikkelsenRally & Andreas Mikkelsen FB

Hänninen and Mikkelsen prepare to lock horns

47th SATA Rallye Açores (SATA Azores Rally), February 23rd-25th, 2012
Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC), round 1

Finland’s Juho Hänninen will lock horns with Norwegian rival Andreas Mikkelsen when the 47th SATA Azores Rally gets the 2012 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (ITC) underway in Ponta Delgada, tomorrow (Thursday).

The Skoda duo fought a frantic battle for supremacy in last year’s three-day event over the technical and demanding gravel tracks that make the Azores’ premier sporting event such a challenge.

Hänninen and co-driver Mikko Markkula managed to snatch a narrow victory on that occasion after team orders came into play, but Mikkelsen had the last laugh by eventually securing the IRC title. Both drivers are likely to be equally matched once again in their Skoda Fabia S2000s over the 14 special stages that will decide the outcome of the first of 13 rounds of this year’s IRC.

The Norwegian may, however, have a slight advantage after taking part in three events already this season.

"Rally Azores is my favourite rally in the IRC calendar, so to begin my title defence there could not be better," said Mikkelsen. "The scenery is beautiful, the atmosphere on the island is fantastic and I love the nature of the stages. The gravel roads are really tricky in places – sometimes fast and narrow, but always really nice to drive.

"The weather this year could play a big role in the outcome of the results. If it’s wet and slippery with low cloud and poor visibility it will be very good for us, because the tougher the challenge the more we like it."

The narrow, undulating gravel special stages make rallying on the Azores a unique experience and one that has already won high acclaim with IRC entrants over the last three years.

In total contrast to the super special stage that runs twice through a quarry near Ponta Delgada on Thursday afternoon and Saturday lunchtime, the picturesque Sete Citades stage – repeated twice on Friday - takes cars along the rim of a dormant volcano and provides one of the most spectacular backdrops in world rallying.

Both Hänninen and Mikkelsen know that they face fierce competition from several other regular IRC faces. Frenchman Bryan Bouffier ran strongly last year and is sure to be competitive in his Peugeot France-backed 207 S2000.

Multiple Portuguese rally champion Bruno Magalhäes won the event in both 2008 and 2010 and would dearly love to start his 2012 campaign with a third win to complete the Azores’ hat-trick and join only two other drivers - Carlos Bica (four wins) and Fernando Peres (seven victories) - who have achieved at least three outright successes in the illustrious 47-year history of the rally.

The UAE’s Rashid Al-Ketbi tackled a solitary round of the IRC in 2011 before committing to a full programme of rallies this year with his Skydive Dubai Rally Team Skoda. The Dubai-based driver is the first Arab to tackle a full IRC programme and will be aiming for a points-scoring finish rather than a podium on his Azores’ debut.

The talented Hermann Gassner Jnr. has his eyes firmly set on the top three with a Red Bull-backed Skoda and young Sepp Wiegand is also likely to feature at the business end of the leader board.

The Ukrainian duo of Oleksandr Salyuk and Oleksii Tamrazov sandwich the experienced Romania-based Italian driver Marco Tempestini (Subaru) on the starting line-up. Tamrazov has teamed up with the 2010 FIA Middle East Rally Championship’s winning Italian co-driver Nicola Arena in his Dream Team Ukraine-backed, M-Sport Ford Fiesta S2000.

Azorean Ricardo Moura heads the strong IRC Production category in his Ralliart Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX and Paulo Maciel starts as the favourite for honours in the IRC 2WD Cup at the wheel of his Citroën.

Tomorrow (Thursday) five of the leading drivers will attend the official pre-event press conference at Portas do Mar in Ponta Delgada, shortly before the official podium start in the centre of the administrative centre of the island of São Miguel precedes three day one special stages.

The opening Coroa Da Mata special runs for 8.25km from 14.29hrs (16.29hrs CET) and winds its way through scenic rural land to the north of the island, to the east of the town of Ribeira Grande.

The second special starts at 15.02hrs and offers 16.18 competitive kilometres between São Brás and Vila Franca, while the day’s action draws to a close with a short super special stage of 2.2km in a quarry, near Ponta Delgada, from 16.07hrs.

The event will be filmed and broadcast by official rights holder Eurosport and live updates will also be aired on World Rally Radio via www.ircseries.com.

Source: Automobilsport

Skoda squad is Ready for 2012!

Skoda will retain Juho Hanninen and Jan Kopecky in its factory team for the 2012 Intercontinental Rally Challenge.

Both have driven for the team since it came into the IRC in 2009, with Hanninen taking the '10 championship and Kopecky finishing second in the standings for all three years.

Skoda will also continue to provide factory-specification equipment for reigning champion Andreas Mikkelsen, who drives under the Skoda UK banner.

Hanninen also delivered the World Rally Championship S2000 title this year, but team boss Michal Hrabanek said the IRC would be the main focus for 2012.

"Skoda's top priority will be to defend the IRC titles we have won in the last two years," he said.

"Three drivers in factory-prepared Fabia Super 2000s are going to fight for points in the manufacturers' category - Jan Kopecky and Juho Hanninen of Skoda Motorsport and Andreas Mikkelsen of Skoda UK Motorsport.

"With future prospects in mind, we want to gain experience in selected events of the European championship."

Source: Autosport

Andreas Mikkelsen wins Cyprus Rally and IRC title

Source: Autosport

Skoda UK driver Andreas Mikkelsen clinched the 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge title with a commanding victory in the double points finale in Cyprus.

Mikkelsen escaped a late scare when he picked up a rear puncture on the opening stage of the final loop - but with title rival Jan Kopecky getting a front puncture on the same rock and losing even more time, Mikkelsen's lead was not in jeopardy.

It could have been a different story had Nasser Al-Attiyah still held second place, but an engine issue on his Autotek Ford prevented the Dakar winner from leaving the midday service, taking any remaining pressure off the leader.

Mikkelsen - who had been a distant seventh in the IRC standings at mid-season - made the most of a scoring system that only counts the seven best scores and offers additional points at the last two rounds to surge into title contention in the latter part of the season, finally taking his first win in Scotland last month.

He battled for victory with fellow championship contender Thierry Neuville through the opening stages in Cyprus, before a puncture delayed the Belgian and then an alternator issue forced him out, ending his title bid.

Mikkelsen was then free to control the rest of the rally to win by 1m40s over long-time championship leader Kopecky's Skoda.

Former Junior World Rally champion Patrik Sandell (Skoda Sweden) took his maiden IRC podium in third, defeating title contender Freddy Loix (BFO Skoda), who never managed to get fully up to speed on his first rally on gravel in almost three years, and was then slowed by engine problems over the final stages, dropping him to fifth behind Karl Kruuda's ME3 Skoda.

Outgoing IRC champion and 2011 S2000 WRC title-winner Juho Hanninen (Skoda) was the other man fighting for the crown this weekend, but he crashed out early on the first full-length stage on Friday morning and was too far behind to feature when he re-entered for Saturday.

~~ xx ~~

Read more news about Mikkelsen title:

>>> Andreas wins the 2011 IRC drivers' title in Cyprus
>>> Day two review: IRC title joy for Mikkelsen
>>> After SS11 - Mikkelsen wins stage and Rally

Andreas Mikkelsen leads Cyprus Rally after day one

Source: Autosport

Andreas Mikkelsen is now in prime position to claim the Intercontinental Rally Challenge title, having taken the lead in Cyprus as main rival Thierry Neuville retired from leg one.

Neuville (Kronos Peugeot) had claimed the lead when Mikkelsen spun his Skoda UK Fabia on SS3 this morning. Both men knew that a victory would be enough to give them the championship.

But on the next stage Neuville lost two minutes with a puncture, and also reported a battery problem. An apparent alternator issue then caused his Peugeot to stop on the subsequent road stage, ending his title bid.

Mikkelsen won both stages this afternoon and will start day two with a 20.7-second lead over Nasser Al-Attiyah's Barwa Ford.

Current championship leader Jan Kopecky is falling away in third place in his Skoda, and with double points available in Cyprus, that will not be enough to hang on and take the title if Mikkelsen wins.

Freddy Loix, the other man still chasing the title, moved ahead of fellow Skoda driver Patrik Sandell for fourth on SS4 as he got more comfortable on gravel after a long absence, but remains a long way from the leaders.

Cyprus Rally 2011 - After SS1: Mikkelsen flies in Pafos streets

Andreas Mikkelsen has made a sensational start to the Intercontinental Rally Challenge title decider in Cyprus by clocking the fastest time through the LTV Super Special Stage held in the streets of Pafos and shown live on the Cypriot broadcaster.

Mikkelsen, driving a ŠKODA Motorsport Fabia Super 2000, completed the 3.20-kilometre all-asphalt course 3.1s faster than defending IRC champion Juho Hänninen. Title leader Jan Kopecký, who is being co-driven by Pavel Dresler for the first time, was third quickest, 0.2s slower than his factory ŠKODA team-mate.

“It’s a good start, a good stage and hopefully we’ll keep it this way for the whole rally,” said Mikkelsen. “We won’t go flat out everywhere but if I drive fast and consistent I’ll be really happy.”

Hänninen was one of several drivers who used scrubbed gravel tyres to improve the handling of his car. “It was a nice start,” said the Finn. “It was quite good with these tyres because the grip felt good.”

Freddy Loix was fourth fastest in his BFO-ŠKODA Rally Team Fabia with fellow Belgian Thierry Neuville fifth in his Team Peugeot Belgium-Luxembourg entry.

“It was not so bad but I lost time braking too for the first corner,” said Neuville. “On Tarmac with the gravel tyre it is very slippery.”

Toshi Arai impressed with the sixth fastest time in his Subaru Impreza R4 STI.

Last year’s Cyprus Rally winner Nasser Al-Attiyah was the first driver to tackle the stage in his M-Sport Ford Fiesta S2000. He said: “There are a lot of spectators, it’s really interesting and the road was quite slippery. A few times we were very close to the kerbs but we were okay.”

Thousands of fans descended on the stage, which was free of charge to members of the public.

Source and Full result Click here!

ŠKODA drivers carry IRC title hopes to Cyprus

ŠKODA drivers start this weekend’s Cyprus Rally in the strongest position to add the Intercontinental Rally Challenge Drivers’ title to the Manufacturers’ title already won, when Andreas Mikkelsen (ŠKODA UK Motorsport), Jan Kopecký and Juho Hänninen (ŠKODA Motorsport) and Freddy Loix (BFO ŠKODA Rally Team) head to the final round of the series in a quartet of Fabia S2000s.

Although victory alone in Cyprus might not be enough for Andreas to lift the title, he will arrive on the Mediterranean island on top form. In a steadily-improving season, he and co-driver Ola Fløene have at times led the last five rallies in the Azores, Czech Republic, Hungary, Sanremo and Scotland – finishing on the podium twice before scoring a career-first IRC win last time out on the penultimate rally of the season.

Last weekend, Andreas also became Italian Gravel Trophy Champion on the Rally Conca d’Oro in Sicily.

In an exceptionally busy season, in which Andreas has also contested Rally Finland and been part of the FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy, the Cyprus Rally will be his 17th and final rally this season. It won’t be his final public appearance in a ŠKODA rally car however, as Andreas will drive a Fabia WRC at the Solberg Extreme Motorshow, which takes place in at Telenor Arena near Oslo on Saturday 26 November.

The Cyprus Rally is likely to be one of the most difficult events of the year, as the IRC title decider will be played out on a tough mixed surface event, with a near 50:50 split of rough gravel mountain tracks and smooth asphalt roads. Andreas is the only one of the five IRC title contenders who go to Cyprus having contested the event last year.

Read more here... Mikkelsen Official Page

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