Mikkelsen satisfied with second in Sanremo

Andreas Mikkelsen has insisted that he had no reason to be disappointed after missing out on victory on Rallye Sanremo following a thrilling finish to the ninth round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge in Italy last Saturday.

Mikkelsen had to settle for second place on the asphalt event, 1.5s behind winner Thierry Neuville following a thrilling battle for glory.

Afterwards the 22-year-old ŠKODA UK Motorsport driver said: “I’m really happy. I thought maybe this rally was the weakest for me this year because I don’t know the roads very well. They are very technical and I did not expect to come here and be fighting for victory with Freddy [Loix], Thierry [Neuville] and Bryan [Bouffier]. That was much more than I was expecting.

“There are always things you can do differently. Okay we were having a good pace and did everything we could on the last stage. Maybe we could have pushed more on the downhill section but I must say I’m very happy with my driving – to be so close after 13 stages is a great result.”

Mikkelsen will be back on IRC duty on RACMSA Rally of Scotland from 7-9 October. Before then he will contest the penultimate round of the Italian Gravel Trophy, the Azzano Rally in the north east of the country this Saturday (1 October).