Strategic approach or running scared? The reality is somewhere in between the two. That reality is a privateer considering the geography of their WRC2 campaign.
Take a look at the table post-Estonia and you’ll see something of a thriller building. Andreas Mikkelsen’s third win in five starts has moved him back to the top of the charts, just three points ahead of Kajetan Kajetanowicz.
Kajetanowicz’s sole win came from Safari, an event Mikkelsen skipped. Mikkelsen won’t be flying away to New Zealand or Japan, either.
With the goalkeeper absent from the penalty box, there’s an open goal to shoot at for anybody hoping to deny the three-time world rally winner a hat-trick of WRC2 titles.
We’re trying to figure out which rallies he will do so we can go and meet himAndreas Mikkelsen on title rival Kajetan Kajetanowicz
Understandably, Mikkelsen’s keen to bounce the WRC2 competition ball back into the FIA’s court.
“It’s tricky,” he told DirtFish. “I know it’s difficult. Let’s say we chose five rallies where we all have to compete, the entry list for the other events on the [WRC] calendar won’t be great. That’s the tricky part and I’m not sure how to solve it.
“But, we should try to find a way that we all try to drive the same rallies, we are all in the competition together and no-one is flying off to other countries where no one else is doing [them].”
In terms of his own program with Toksport, it’s still under discussion.
“We have to choose what’s next,” Mikkelsen said. “I’d say the championship looks best for Kajto right now.”
It’s hard to argue. A pair of engine failures triggered by a batch of dodgy air filters have hit Mikkelsen hard – allied to that, fellow Škoda driver Kajetanowicz has started one round less than the series leader.
“We’re trying to figure out which rallies he will do so we can go and meet him,” added Mikkelsen. “There are some rumors that he might do Japan and New Zealand and that’s not happening for us – I don’t think we will do any long hauls.”
There is no rule currently in place requiring drivers to participate in events outside of Europe to be eligible for the WRC2 drivers’ title.
In the teams’ championship, the best five results out of six on European events are counted, with teams optionally allowed to add points from one rally outside of Europe to their overall tally. Toksport currently holds a 21-point lead over Hyundai in the WRC2 teams’ title race.
