 Mikkelsen at the 2015 Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  Norwegian |
| Born | (1989-06-22)22 June 1989 (age 36) Oslo, Norway |
| World Rally Championship record | |
| Active years | 2006–present |
| Co-driver | CurrentTorstein Eriksen Former  Phil HallElliott EdmondsonOla FløeneAnders Jæger Mikko Markkula Paul Nagle Jonas Andersson |
| Teams | Stobart Ford,Volkswagen,Škoda,Citroën,Hyundai,Toksport WRT |
| Rallies | 136 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Rally wins | 3 |
| Podiums | 25 |
| Stage wins | 117 |
| Total points | 896 |
| First rally | 2006Wales Rally GB |
| First win | 2015 Rally Catalunya |
| Last win | 2016 Rally Australia |
| Last rally | 2024 Rally Japan |
Andreas Mikkelsen (born 22 June 1989) is aNorwegianrally driver. He is currently competing in theWorld Rally Championship forHyundai Shell Mobis WRT. He previously drove for the factory teams ofVolkswagen andCitroën, finishing third in the drivers' standings in2014,2015 and2016. His currentco-driver isTorstein Eriksen.
He is a two-timeIntercontinental Rally Challenge champion, having finished first in2011 and2012. In 2021, Mikkelsen became the drivers' champion in both theWRC-2 and theEuropean Rally Championship. He won WRC-2 for a second time in2023.
Mikkelsen has a broad background in sports. He has competed inslalom andgiant slalom, and was a member of the national juniors'alpine skiing team. In 2003 and 2004, he competed inmotocross, also representing the national juniors' team.
After turning 17 and getting a Britishdriver's license, Mikkelsen started competing in rallies in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Driving aFord Focus RS WRC, he won the Quinton Stages, the Coracle, the Plains, the Bulldog and the Cambrian Rally, as well as the Saaremaa Rally inEstonia.[1] He finished 38th overall in 2007 in the famousDonegal International Rally in his Ford Focus, finishing almost an hour behind eventual winnerSébastien Loeb.[2]
Mikkelsen debuted in theWorld Rally Championship at the 2006Rally GB and retired from the 14thspecial stage after going off the road. In the2007 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 the2007 Rally Ireland and tenth inNorway andPortugal.
For the2008 season, Mikkelsen had some exclusive coaching from Ford's retired double world championMarcus Grönholm.[3] 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 the2008 Swedish Rally, beatingMatthew Wilson's 2006 record of being the youngest driver ever to score points in a WRC event.[4] 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.[5]
In2010, Mikkelsen competed in theIntercontinental Rally Challenge driving aFord Fiesta S2000 with a best finish of second on the2010 Rally Scotland. He placed seventh in the overall standings. Mikkelsen drove a Super 2000 car also on three WRC rounds, and won theSWRC class at the season-ending2010 Wales Rally GB.
Following a strong 2010 campaign, Mikkelsen signed with the Skoda UK Motorsport team for the 2011 IRC season.[6]
During his 2011 season driving for Skoda UK Motorsport in the IRC, Mikkelsen were off to a rough start. The first rally of the season, Rally Monte-Carlo, Mikkelsen had to retire only after SS1. Sata Rallye Açores where a turning point of the season, where he placed second, his first ever podium in the IRC.[7] Prior to the last rally of the season, Rally Cyprus, five drivers were fighting for the drivers championship. Mikkelsen, winning Rally Cyprus took home the title, being the youngest person ever to win the IRC.[7]
Mikkelsen continued his dominance of the IRC in the 2012 season, claiming the drivers championship after winning at Azores and Romania plus collecting five second place finishes. Mikkelsen is the first ever to win the IRC (now ERC) two consecutive times.
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From 2013 to 2016, Mikkelsen competed for Volkswagen Motorsport II in their factory Polo WRC. He did not reach the podium during the 2013 season, but won several special stages, placing 10th in the overall standings. 2014 saw more favourable results, with three second placed finishes, and two third place results, he completed the year in an impressive third place in the championship overall standings. In 2015, he achieved his first rally victory in Spain, and seven third place results, giving him another third place in the world championship. Mikkelsen followed that by two more wins in Poland and Australia during the 2016 season, and two more second places, resulting in yet another third place in the championship overall. Mikkelsen had finished 3rd in the championship three times consecutively from 2014 to 2016. Volkswagen retired from WRC at the end of 2016, leaving Mikkelsen without a drive for 2017.[8]
In early 2017, Mikkelsen entered three rounds of the WRC-2 with a factory Škoda Fabia R5, winning the Monte Carlo Rally and Tour de Corse. He joined theCitroën World Rally Team in mid 2017, debuting at Italy with aCitroën C3 WRC. After finishing second inGermany, Mikkelsen signed a deal for2018 withHyundai Motorsport, joining close friendThierry Neuville,Dani Sordo andHayden Paddon. He finished fourth in Welsh Rally GB before the end of that year.
2018 started promisingly with third place in Sweden, but Andreas suffered a series of setbacks, and finished the year 6th place overall. 2019 was significantly better. Despite missing out or retiring from six of the fourteen WRC events that year, Mikkelsen scored one second place and two third places, to finish the season in 4th place overall. His contract with Hyundai was not renewed at the end of 2019, leaving Mikkelsen without a WRC drive.[9]
Mikkelsen was left without a drive for 2020 season, so atRally Sardegna he co-drove for2003 World Drivers' ChampionPetter Solberg. They contested the rally inShakedown andPower Stage usingSaintéloc-prepared Citroen C3 WRC equipped withPirelli tyres to be used for the2021 season. AtRally Monza, together with Eurosol Racing Team he finished 6th in WRC-2 and won in WRC-3 category.
For 2021, Mikkelsen joinedToksport for a combinedWRC-2 andERC campaign, driving aŠkoda Fabia R5/Rally2 evo. He become the first driver to win both WRC-2 and ERC title in the same year.[10][11] He stayed with the team in 2022 and is currently leading theWRC-2 standings. Between the races, he also helped Škoda Motorsport to develop the new Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 and he drove it at the 2022 Bohemia Rally Mladá Boleslav as course car.
| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Andreas Mikkelsen | Subaru Impreza WRX STi | NOR Ret | CYP | POR | ARG | ITA | GRE | AUS | GBR | NC | 0 |
| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Czech Ford National Team | Škoda Fabia S2000 | SWE | MEX | JOR | NZL | POR | FIN | GER | JPN | FRA | GBR 1 | 11th | 25 |
| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Škoda Motorsport | Škoda Fabia R5 | MON 1 | SWE | MEX | FRA 1 | ARG | POR Ret | ITA | POL | FIN | GER | ESP | GBR | AUS | 9th | 50 |
| 2021 | Toksport WRT | Škoda Fabia R5 Evo | MON 1 | ARC 2 | CRO 5 | POR WD | ITA Ret | KEN WD | EST 1 | BEL | GRE 1 | FIN | ESP | MNZ 2 | 1st | 149 | |
| 2022 | Toksport WRT | Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo | MON 1 | SWE 1 | CRO | POR Ret | ITA Ret | KEN | EST 1 | FIN | BEL 2 | GRE 7 | NZL | ESP | JPN | 2nd | 109 |
| 2023 | Toksport WRT 3 | Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 | MON | SWE | MEX | CRO | POR 3 | ITA 1 | KEN | EST 1 | FIN 4 | GRE 1 | CHL | EUR 13 | JPN 1 | 1st | 137 |
| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Eurosol Racing Team Hungary | Škoda Fabia R5 Evo | MON | SWE | MEX | EST | TUR | ITA | MNZ 1 | 8th | 25 |
| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Andreas Mikkelsen | Opel Corsa S2000 | MON | BRA | KEN | POR | BEL | RUS | POR | CZE 33 | ESP | ITA | SCO | – | 0 | ||
| 2010 | Andreas Mikkelsen | Ford Fiesta S2000 | MON | CUR | ARG | CAN | SAR Ret | YPR 5 | AZO 4 | MAD | ZLI 5 | SAN Ret | SCO 2 | CYP Ret | 7th | 21 | |
| 2011 | Škoda UK | Škoda Fabia S2000 | MON Ret | CAN 6 | COR 6 | YAL 4 | YPR Ret | AZO 2 | ZLI 5 | MEC Ret | SAN 2 | SCO 1 | CYP 1 | 1st | 153.5 | ||
| 2012 | Škoda UK | Škoda Fabia S2000 | AZO 1 | CAN 2 | IRL 2 | COR 5 | TAR 2 | YPR Ret | SMR 2 | ROM 1 | ZLI 8 | YAL | SLI | SAN | CYP 2 | 1st | 150 |
| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Topp-Cars Rally Team | Škoda Fabia R5 Evo | ITA | LAT | PRT | HUN 1 | ESP 6 | 5th | 52 | |||
| 2021 | Toksport WRT | Škoda Fabia R5 Evo | POL 2 | LAT 5 | ITA 8 | CZE 2 | PRT1 1 | PRT2 1 | HUN 6 | ESP | 1st | 191 |
Mikkelsen was an Alpine skier before concentrating on rallying.[12]
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Intercontinental Rally Challenge Champion 2011–2012 | Succeeded by Incumbent |
