Wilson predicts victories for Mikkelsen

M-Sport boss Malcolm Wilson believes Andreas Mikkelsen has what it takes to fight for victories in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge this season.

Norwegian ace Mikkelsen, 20, begins his seven-event IRC bid on Rally d’Italia-Sardegna this week. He will drive a Ford Fiesta S2000 run by Wilson’s British M-Sport operation.

“He can win rallies,” said Wilson. “Don’t get me wrong, it won’t be easy, but judging by the performance of car so far and knowing his levels of performance as a driver I don’t see any reason why he can’t win a rally.”

Wilson also took the opportunity to confirm that Mikko Hirvonen, who won Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo in an M-Sport Fiesta in January, won’t contest Geko Ypres Rally later this month, despite being linked to an outing on the Belgian asphalt showpiece.

“Definitely not, I guarantee you Mikko won’t be doing Ypres or any more IRC events,” said Wilson. “We’re running Mikkelsen starting in Sardinia and that’s it. It’s an M-Sport project with M-Sport people, an M-Sport team if you like.”