Mikkelsen Andreas won his first ever WRC race today at the 2015 Spain Rally after battling it through with his VW Motorsport teammates in a VW Polo R WRC. Mikkelsen and his codriver Floene Ola crossed the finish line first with an advantage of 3.1s over teammate Matti Jari Latvala in another VW Polo R WRC.
Mikkelsen’s luck struck when newly crowned champion Ogier Sebastien crashed out of the lead with only 4 km left to the finish. The Norwegian was shocked but also saw an opportunity to score his first ever WRC win in his 64 career attempts. Despite his ‘relief’, Mikkelsen still had to struggle through to the end in what turned to be a fierce battle between him and Latvala.
An excited Mikkelsen said, “It was absurd because Ogier never makes mistakes so when they told me I didn’t believe it. It was a big surprise and although it’s not the way I want to win a rally, we’ve been so close so many times that I feel I really deserve this one.”
Latvala suffered a puncture with three stages left while Andreas spun out in the penultimate stage. The two embarked on a final attempt to secure a win and it Mikkelsen who emerged fastest to claim a much needed win in his career. Latvala finished second ahead of Hyundai’s Sordo Dani and Citroen drivers – Ostberg Mads and Meeke Kris. Paddon Hayden completed the top six in another Hyundai i20 WRC.
Elsewhere in WRC 2, Nasser Al-Attiyah claimed the 2015 championship title after finishing the four day event with enough points in Spain today. The Qatari man has been on a roll all year, he won Dakar Rally 2015 and two other rally championships all in one year. The 2015 WRC championship victory is his fourth title of the year.
Original published at "GTS Spirit" website.
