Andreas Mikkelsen will start next year’s Monte Carlo Rally in WRC2 and is considering mounting a full title defense while also hoping to secure some drives in a Rally1 car next season.
The Toksport-run driver won the Monte, Rally Estonia and the Acropolis this year in a Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo en route to the class title, which he wrapped up with a round to spare.
That meant the pressure was off for this weekend’s Monza Rally where he finished third in WRC2 after a puncture on Friday.
Fresh from the podium ceremony for his official championship coronation, Mikkelsen admitted “next year is not sorted” but he is “working on it”.
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“Of course the dream is to be in WRC [Rally1]. But I will start here in Monte Carlo with Toksport and Škoda, and the plan is to do a WRC2 season,” he revealed.
“And if there’s a possibility to go up to WRC [in the top class], that’s what I’m hoping for. But for sure we try to repeat this year if there will be no opportunity arising.”
Mikkelsen’s only opportunity for a full-time Rally1 drive in 2022 looked to be at M-Sport, but it announced Gus Greensmith as its second driver during the Monza Rally weekend and is expected to retain Adrien Fourmaux too. Hyundai and Toyota’s full factory line-ups were solidified in October.
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It’s also unclear who will co-drive for Mikkelsen next rally, as he’s had a number of different people sit next to him during his title-winning WRC2 and European Rally Championship campaigns this year.
At Monza he was partnered for the first time with Phil Hall as Elliott Edmondson – who replaced Ola Fløene from the Acropolis Rally onwards – joined forces with Oliver Solberg.
Hall has been Jon Armstrong’s co-driver in Junior WRC this year, and Tom Williams’ before that.