Mikkelsen’s 24-hour island points mission
In a script that could have come straight out of Jack Bauer’s CTU filing cabinet, Skoda UK Motorsport’s Andreas Mikkelsen will have just 24 hours in his Fabia S2000 to score Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) points – for that’s how long this year’s Rally Islas Canarias Trofeo El Corte Inglés will play out, over the fast and twisty mountain roads above Las Palmas.
The all-action IRC Round 2 will see 12 stages and 118.42 miles (190.59kms) completed in a breathtakingly short space of time. A six hour overnight halt, a power-steering testing stagearound the Gran Karting Club and night stages in the hills will combine to make this a challenge befitting the event’s 35th anniversary.
It’s been 12 weeks since the opening round of the IRC in Monte Carlo, and Andreas has filled the time wisely. He’s travelled to Austria, Edinburgh and Chamoinix with the FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy; driven former world number one golfer Nick Faldo and models Yasmin and Amber Le Bon around the Goodwood Forest Rally Stage; spent a week in Italy learning the technical intricacies of the Fabia S2000; won the Ronde De La Giraglia test rally in Corsica and took second place on the Rally dell’Adriatico (the opening round of the Italian Gravel Rally Championship).
His co-driver Ola Fløene has been busy too, going with Andreas to Goodwood, Italy and Corsica, spectating on Rally Sweden and Rally Finnskog (the opening round of the Norwegian Rally Championship), preparing his stock car for its next race and hand-feeding a baby deer, saving it from a very harsh Norwegian winter after it was abandoned by its mother.
Reunited in their Skoda UK Motorsport Fabia S2000, this will be the first time Andreas and Ola have contested the Rally Islas Canarias Trofeo El Corte Inglés. They are familiar with Spanish asphalt rallies, however, having twice contested the Spanish round of the FIA World Rally Championship on the mainland, finishing a points-scoring 8th in 2008, after making their debut there the year before. Gran Canarias shares an abrasive, grippy asphalt surface with those roads in Catalunya and are also very smooth, fast and flowing in places. Andreas will arrive on the Spanish holiday island of Gran Canarias with business in mind, and a clear business plan of recording a points-scoring finish.
Andreas: “I’ve never rallied on Gran Canarias before, but I hear it’s like a typical Spanish asphalt rally – and I have experience on this type of abrasive asphalt, having done the World Rally Championship event in Catalunya twice.
“I’m pleased there will be night stages, because we will be ready for them having recently done a practice rally in Corsica. I feel very comfortable driving at night; in Corsica we were just as quick in the dark as we were during the day, so for sure these will be important stages for us. It will also be fun to rally on a kart track. Ola and I used to go and race karts just about every weekend we weren’t rallying and have been to almost every rental kart track in the UK, but we have never been around one in the same car before!
“Gran Canarias will be where our IRC campaign starts, so for us it’s important we leave the island with good points on the table. That will be our plan before we arrive and we’ll be sticking to it throughout the event. Results-wise, a finish in the points is what we’re aiming for.”
Rally Islas Canarias Trofeo El Corte Inglés begins with a ceremonial start at the Parque Santa Catalina, in the heart of Las Palmas, at 20.30 on Thursday 14 April, although the action doesn’t get underway until the following afternoon. Leg 1 on Friday 15 April contains eight special stages – including two runs at the Santa Lucia which, at 15.26 miles (24.57 kms) is the longest of the event – totaling 72.58 miles (116.81 kms); 63% of the competitive distance. It will be 00.50 before the first car checks into overnight parc ferme, and after a short rest the first car will begin Leg 2 on Saturday 16 April at 07.30. The final day contains two stages, San Mateo 14.55 miles (23.42 kms) and Artenara 8.37 miles (13.47kms) in the morning, which are repeated in the afternoon. The overall competitive distance after 12 stages is 118.42 miles (190.59 kms), and the finish is back in Las Palmas at just after 14.00.
