Andreas Mikkelsen says the fire that destroyed his test car won’t affect his preparations for round five of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, the legendary Targa Florio-Rally Internazionale Di Sicilia.
Mikkelsen’s spare ŠKODA Fabia Super 2000 had been loaned to Jean-Dominique Mattei for Giru di Corsica-Tour de Corse earlier this month but was gutted by a fire on the second day of the asphalt rally (pictured), fortunately without injury to Mattei and his co-driver Patrick Scipilitti.
However, a replacement car will be made available for ŠKODA UK-backed Mikkelsen to use when he tests for the Sicily-based round.
“ŠKODA Rally Team Italia, which runs my car in the IRC, has several cars so [the fire] causes us no problems,” said the 22-year-old Mikkelsen, who claimed the IRC title in Cyprus live on Eurosport last season. “Testing and everything is going normally and to plan.”
Targa Florio-Rally Internazionale Di Sicilia takes place from 14-16 June. The event is a new addition to the all-action IRC for 2012.