Frustration for Mikkelsen

VW Motorsport driver, Andreas Mikkelsen, had to plead with a group of spectators to help him push his VW Polo R WRC back onto the road after he crashed on the 10th stage of Rallye Monte-Carlo.

The Norwegian was fighting for Elfyn Evans’ fifth place when he hit a patch of ice on a left-hand bend and slid off the road.

Ordinarily, there is no shortage of help when drivers hit trouble in Monte-Carlo, but it seems Mikkelsen crashed in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“We slid off the road really slowly,” Mikkelsen explained. “As soon as the car stopped we were looking for help but there was nothing.

“There were six or seven guys just stood around with their hands in their pockets. Mikko [Markkula, Mikkelsen’s co-driver] and I were out of the car shouting: ‘come on guys, please can you help us?’

“Eventually they came across and helped to push us back on the road. It was a strange situation.”

Unfortunately for Mikkelsen, the delay in getting back on the road cost him more than four minutes and he dropped to eighth place heading into the final stage of the day.