Mikkelsen: I can still fight for Sanremo glory

Andreas Mikkelsen is convinced that he is still in the fight for victory on Rallye Sanremo in what would be his first win in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge.

Mikkelsen, who fronts the crack ŠKODA UK Motorsport squad alongside co-driver Ola Fløene, retook the lead on Saturday’s first stage only to slip back at the completion of stage 10. With three stages remaining the Norwegian is 2.5s shy of top spot.

“We’re still pushing at a good speed and we are reasonably happy,” said the 22-year-old. “Everything is possible. There are four candidates to win this rally and we’re definitely one of them. Things will get interesting this afternoon for sure.”

Mikkelsen added: “Today the first stage was good but we lost a little bit of time on the next two stages because the set-up didn’t work so well. Stage eight is a lot uphill, stage nine is a lot more downhill and stage ten is quite bumpy; we’re losing a little bit of time on the twisty downhill sections in the corners. It’s only a 10th of a second here and a 10th there, but that’s what’s made the difference. We can make some set-up changes to the car in service, so things will be better.”