Andreas Mikkelsen will prepare for his seven-event Intercontinental Rally Challenge programme by contesting three rallies in Latvia, Norway and Sweden in the coming weeks.
The 20-year-old from Norway will use an M-Sport Ford Fiesta S2000 for his IRC campaign, which starts with Rally d’Italia-Sardegna from 4-6 June. Before then, however, he will drive his standard Subaru Impreza on three practice events to familiarise himself with the Hankook tyres he will use this season.
“My Fiesta won’t be finished until the end of May so doing these rallies will help me prepare,” said Mikkelsen. “I will test the Fiesta for one day in the UK and I will also try to find the chance to test in Sardinia before the rally. You never get enough testing but this will help me a long way.”
Mikkelsen has followed the results of the opening three IRC events and believes he still has a chance of claiming the title, despite championship leader Juho Hänninen amassing 24 points.
“I think it’s still quite open and I have seven events to do so it’s quite possible,” said Mikkelsen. “But it means there will be pressure on me to finish every event.”