For a driver who’s just recently won one of the fastest World Rally Championship rallies in his class, and is set to take on what should be the fastest round this weekend, Andreas Mikkelsen’s sentiment may appear perplexing.
But the Norwegian misses going fast. He misses that feeling where “you just say like ‘f*** it’ and you just drive as quick as you can.”
Surprisingly for a driver in WRC2, particularly this season where it’s arguably more competitive than ever, that’s not what Mikkelsen has been doing.
The Škoda driver may have won both of his last two starts in the Rally2 division, but neither have been claimed via on-the-edge, nothing-left-on-the-table driving.
In Sardinia Mikkelsen was the first to admit he effectively inherited the win after M-Sport’s Adrien Fourmaux went off on the powerstage, while in Estonia he was initially second fastest to Oliver Solberg and then not as quick as his other team-mate, Sami Pajari, once he led and Solberg was out.
Mikkelsen was quick to praise the speed of his rivals, but he knew he could go quicker. His game plan this season (and actually most of last year too) has been deliberately been crafted that way: to push where he needs to push, but measure his pace elsewhere to minimize the risks.
“The plan was to drive in a good pace and try to push, but of course try to stay within the limits, and I think we did that,” Mikkelsen told DirtFish in Estonia.
“For sure there’s always room for a bit more here and there, and Oliver was super quick on day one.
“Maybe we could have matched him if we went absolutely mental in there, but those risks were not the ones I was willing to take so early on in the rally when it’s a long rally.
“Maybe a bit defensive, but at the end we’re winning.”
Ultimately, that’s what matters most to Andreas. While Solberg for example has been open about the fact he wants to be the fastest WRC2 driver, Mikkelsen wants only to be champion.
He can therefore be proud of himself for continuing to drive “clever”, but Mikkelsen’s a rally driver and pushing yourself to the very limit absolutely everywhere is addictive.
“For sure, I missed this feeling that we had in Greece last year where we lost 10 minutes on day one and you just say like ‘f*** it’ and you just drive as quick as you can, try to catch up as much time,” Mikkelsen admitted.
“Of course you drive in a little bit of a different way. So I miss this feeling, but I know we need the points from every event now, so we have to drive a little bit accordingly.”
This weekend’s Rally Finland is Mikkelsen’s next opportunity to secure a big result in WRC2, and he’s promising to push a little more from the off.
“I think this rally is a bit different to Estonia,” Mikkelsen said during the recce. “Let’s say if you lose 10-15 seconds it will be really tough to catch it back, so for sure the approach will be a bit different here than in Estonia.
“We will try to push more from the beginning and hopefully be up there fighting at the front.
“Of course the priority here is to try and get the maximum points, and let’s say if someone is doing really well who is not taking the points we try not to be too much influenced by this – but that’s easier said than done!
“Anyway I know that I cannot have a retirement because then the championship will be tough, so I need to push but stay on the road. It’s always a fine line.
“This rally can be the coolest rally in the world if you have a good feeling with the car, but if you don’t have that feeling and you’re not committed it’s the worst rally in the world! I hope we have a good feeling this weekend!”
Mastering that would give Mikkelsen the biggest smile, even if he may find himself biting his lip at points throughout the weekend as he fights that urge to just say ‘f*** it’.
