Disappointment for Andreas at Wales Rally GB

Even though Andreas Mikkelsen is very disappointed after Wales Rally GB, he is looking ahead and have not given up the fight for second in the championship. – We’re going to Australia to win, he says.

October 31, 2016

Going in to the penultimate round in the 2016 championship, Andreas and Thierry Neuville were joint second in the driver’s standings. But in Wales the Belgian secured more points and is now ahead before the final round in Australia in three weeks. Andreas and Anders had lost a lot of time due to a broken front drive shaft on Friday, and had no chance after for a top3 finish, while Thierry finished third.

– We still have a chance to get the second in the driver’s championship, but that means we have to win in Australia. Which is a pretty cool target! It will be all or nothing when come down under, says Andreas.

He lost a lot of time with the damaged drive shaft and having to complete the day with rear wheel drive only. After that it was all about securing the bonus points at the power stage. Andreas was on it from the start on that stage, and managed to get two very valuable points. However, Neuville managed to get one extra point, and is going to Australia with a 14-point advantage on Andreas.

I have to admit this has actually been a boring weekend. With the broken drive shaft, we had no chance to battle against Thierry, but at least we managed the two power stage points. I’m super happy about Volkswagen Motorsport claiming their 4th consecutive manufactures championship in Wales. That also means we can now go to Australia and push for the win, as the championships are already secured.

Overall classification Wales Rally GB 2016

S. Ogier, VW 3:14:30.2
O. Tanak, Ford +10.2
T. Neuville, Hyundai +1:35.4
H. Paddon, Hyundai+1:54.9
K. Meeke, Citroen +2:35.2
D. Sordo, Hyundai +4:02.6
J. Latvala, VW +4:28.3
M. Østberg, Ford +4:38.3
S. Lefebvre, Citroen +7:12.2
E. Camilli, Ford +8:19.3
E. Lappi, Skoda +9:30.1
A. Mikkelsen, VW +9:44.0