Mikkelsen To Get Early Rally Run In Corsica

MILTON KEYNES, UNITED KINGDOM – February 25, 2011: Andreas Mikkelsen and co-driver Ola Fløene will contest the Ronde De La Giraglia (5-6 March), a national rally on the island of Corsica, in their Škoda UK Motorsport Fabia S2000, as an asphalt test for the forthcoming rounds of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC).

With nine out of 12 IRC rallies taking place on asphalt this year, the team is keen to purposefully fill the gap between now and Round 2 of the series, Rally Islas Canarias El Corte Ingles, which takes place between 14-16 April.

The Ronde De La Giraglia is based in Bastia, on the northeast coast of the picturesque Mediterranean island. The rally contains 10 stages – two on Day 1 repeated three times and two more on Day 2 attempted twice. The second day contains the longest stage of the event, the 15.78 mile (25.4km) Minerbio-Pino test.

These stages to the north of the island are some distance from the Ajaccio region, where Round 3 of the IRC, Tour de Corse (13-15 May) will take place, yet they offer an excellent opportunity to test on asphalt under rally competition conditions.

Andreas: “I’ve rallied in Corsica twice before, in 2007 and ’08 in the WRC. It’s quite abrasive asphalt, so a very good place to test for Gran Canarias. I got a lot of test miles in the Fabia S2000 before the season started, so I feel comfortable in the car, and to get more competition miles on a proper rally before the next round of the IRC will be really good.”