Mikkelsen: clean run key to Prime Yalta Rally success

Andreas Mikkelsen says a “clean run” will be key to success on next week’s Prime Yalta Rally, round 10 of the all-action Intercontinental Rally Challenge.

Mikkelsen has already contested nine rounds of this year’s IRC - scoring points on eight occasions - and with drivers permitted to count their best eight scores during the course of the season, Mikkelsen and his ŠKODA UK Motorsport team have elected not to contest the demanding asphalt event in Ukraine’s Crimea region, which will enjoy extensive coverage on Eurosport.

“My tip for success on the Yalta Rally is to have a clean run,” said the defending IRC champion and current title leader. “There were a lot of punctures last year, so I’d recommend people run with a little higher tyre pressure than they normally would.”

Mikkelsen was a big fan of the Yalta Rally when he made his event debut in 2011, earning the Colin McRae IRC Flat Out Trophy after finishing fourth overall.

“The Tarmac is very different to any other rally I’ve ever done; it’s very slippery in the dry and if it’s wet it will be really tricky,” he said. “The stages are more or less the same as last year, so there are some spectacular stages – especially the Ai-Petri stage. That goes up a big hill and then you go straight into the next stage, Plato, which goes down the hill. These two stages are quite tricky for punctures, but if you stay out of trouble on these two stages I think you’ll have a good chance of scoring a very good result.”