Mikkelsen makes car tweaks for night runs
“That loop of stages was better, we pushed a little bit but took no risks"
Andreas Mikkelsen will tackle the final two stages on day one of Rally Islas Canarias El Corte Inglés with four new dampers and a new clutch fitted to his Škoda UK Motorsport Fabia Super 2000.
The Norwegian driver is currently embroiled in a close battle with Intercontinental Rally Challenge leder Bryan Bouffier for sixth overall with just 1.5s separating the pair heading to stage seven, the 13.22-kilometre Valleseco test.
“That loop of stages was better, we pushed a little bit but took no risks,” said Mikkelsen prior to second service in Las Palmas. “We made some small changes to the car after the first three stages and put in a different roll bar.
“There was a lot of fog in places in stage six – on a downhill section the fog was so thick that you couldn’t see either side of the road, but it was a flat-out straight so it didn’t matter.”
Mikkelsen said he is expecting a tough challenge on the night stages, adding: “It won’t be easy because it’s difficult to see around the corner. It’s important just to make it back here in one piece.”