Tidemand to Follow in Mikkelsen’s Footsteps

Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion Andreas Mikkelsen might only be 22 and showing no signs of slowing down but he’s already got a successor aiming to emulate his considerable achievements in the future.

Pontus Tidemand, a 20-year-old from Sweden, has been signed to Erik Veiby’s EVEN Rally AS, the management company behind Mikkelsen.

Tidemand, the youngest driver to win the Swedish title, will drive the same SKODA Fabia Super 2000 Mikkelsen used to win the IRC rounds in Scotland and Cyprus this season in his domestic championship in 2012. He could also contest a handful of rounds of the IRC in a similar car.

“This is a great opportunity for me,” said Tidemand. “Having support from EVEN Rally will be of great help to reach an even higher level.”

Source: World Rally Sport

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Who's Andreas Mikkelsen?

Mikkelsen has a broad background in sports. He has competed in slalom and giant slalom, and was a member of the national juniors' alpine skiing team. In 2003 and 2004, he competed in motocross, also representing the national juniors' team.

After turning 17 and getting a British driver's license, Mikkelsen started competing in rallies in the United Kingdom. Driving a Ford Focus WRC, he won the Quinton Stages, the Coracle, the Plains, the Bulldog and the Cambrian Rally, as well as the Saaremaa Rally in Estonia.

Mikkelsen debuted in the World Rally Championship at the 2006 Rally GB and retired from the 14th special stage after going off the road. In the 2007 season, he competed in eight WRC events, and also took part in the Irish Tarmac Championship and the Norwegian Rally Championship. His best WRC results were ninth at the 2007 Rally Ireland and tenth in Norway and Portugal.

For the 2008 season, Mikkelsen had some exclusive coaching from Ford's retired double world champion Marcus Grönholm. Even though having major problems with turbocharger on Friday's stages, he achieved the best result of his WRC career so far by claiming fifth in the 2008 Swedish Rally, beating Matthew Wilson's 2006 record of being the youngest driver ever to score points in a WRC event. He intended to compete in all of the championship rounds in Europe, whilst completing his final year in school.

During Rally Larvik in September 2009, Mikkelsen was involved in an accident, when he got a slide on his car and hit a 10-year-old spectator, killing her instantly. Mikkelsen, in the Ford Fiesta S2000, on his way to second place on the 2010 Rally Scotland.

In 2010, Mikkelsen competed in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge driving a Ford Fiesta S2000 with a best finish of second on the 2010 Rally Scotland. He placed seventh in the overall standings. Mikkelsen drove a Super 2000 car also on three WRC rounds, and won the SWRC class at the season-ending 2010 Wales Rally GB. Following a strong 2010 campaign, Mikkelsen signed with the Skoda UK Motorsport team for the 2011 IRC season.

In 2011, Andreas will contest the Intercontinental Rally Challenge in a Škoda UK Motorsport Fabia S2000, co-driven by Ola Fløene.

Source: Wikipedia

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