Andreas made the day complete for Volkswagen Motorsport

For the sixth time in nine WRC rounds this season, Andreas Mikkelsen finished on the podium. For Norway’s rally ace, this event was all about staying in control in order to secure third place.

August 24, 2015

For the sixth time in nine WRC rounds this season, Andreas Mikkelsen finished on the podium. For Norway’s rally ace, this event was all about staying in control in order to secure third place.

When the Brit Kris Meeke disappeared from the top fight on Friday morning, Andreas Mikkelsen and his co-driver Ola Fløene could drive without pressure. The time difference to the Norwegian’s teammates in Volkswagen Motorsport, Sebastien Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala, was too big to drive on the absolute limit just to take a few seconds. At the same time, the difference to fourth place was big enough for Andreas and Ola to not have to feel threatened. Only an unexpected incident could change the outcome for the three VW Polo R WRC drivers in the top.

“In that sense, it was a pretty boring rally for us. However, it is never easy to be in a position like that. If you lose concentration, things can go wrong even if you drive in a controlled way” said Andreas.

Considering that, the two last days of Rally Germany mostly became a challenge in concentration. And they managed it beautifully. As soon as Dani Sordo caught a few seconds on Saturday, Andreas bit back and increased his pace. Before Sunday’s final four stages, the difference between the two was so big that the 26-year-old let Sordo catch seconds throughout the day. After the last stage, 12.6 seconds separated them.

“I had more to give, but there was no point taking any risks. I felt that I had full control of third place” said Andreas, who repeated his result from last year when he was the best Volkswagen Motorsport driver. This year the world’s greatest rally team did a lot better. With all three podium spots in their hands, the WRC round on home soil was a huge success for the German team. Sebastien Ogier took a big step towards this third straight world title, while Jari-Matti Latvala finished second. At the finish, the three VW Motorsport drivers celebrated together and Ogier could not deny that this was a great triumph for the team.

“We were disappointed when we did not win last year and we have felt a lot of pressure ahead of this year’s event. When we now fight back by finishing one, two and three, it is just fantastic” said Ogier.

Also in the overall WRC standings, Ogier, Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen are in first, second and third place. Just like the WRC season ended last year.

“To finish on the podium was my objective for this event and I’m really happy that we could reach that goal. And I’m also pleased that we climbed back to third in the standings. To take a medal is an obvious goal for this season” said Andreas Mikkelsen, who has had a very solid and consistent season so far. The third place in Germany was his sixth podium position after nine WRC rounds.

“As the situation was what it was this time, we had the opportunity to test different settings on the car, and in that way become even better prepared for Rally France, which is the next WRC event on asphalt. It took some time to get used to the new setup, we had a bit too much under steering to be able to deliver great times. But the experience we got here is really valuable for the next asphalt round” he said.

Results in Rally Germany

1. Sebastien Ogier, France, 3.35.49,5
2. Jari-Matti Latvala, Finland, +23
3. Andreas Mikkelsen, Norway, +1.56,6
4. Dani Sordo, Spain, + 2.09,3
5. Thierry Neuville, Belgium, + 2.33,8
6. Elfyn Evans, Great Britain, + 2.52,1
7. Mads Østberg, Norway, + 3.12,5
8. Ott Tanak, Estonia, + 4.26,6
9. Hayden Paddon, New Zealand, + 4.46,8
10. Stephan Lefebvre, France, + 4.54,5

Overall WRC standings after nine out of 13 rounds

1. Ogier (VW) 207 points
2. Latvala (VW) 114
3. MIKKELSEN (VW) 98
4. Østberg (Citroen) 90
5. Neuville (Hyundai) 80
6. Evans (Ford) 61
7. Meeke (Citroen) 56
8. Tänak (Ford) 54
9. Sordo (Hyundai) 52
10. Paddon (Hyundai) 46