Renowned WRC driver Andreas Mikkelsen and co-driver Anders Jæger will make a guest appearance for the ŠKODA Motorsport team at the Rallye Monte Carlo.
Following an extraordinarily successful year in 2016, ŠKODA Motorsport has landed a surprise coup ahead of the new rally season. Experienced WRC driver Andreas Mikkelsen and co-driver Anders Jæger will make a guest appearance for the works team at the wheel of the ŠKODA FABIA R5 at the iconic Rallye Monte Carlo, which takes place from 19 to 22 January 2017. The opening round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) also marks the start of the new season with the works team for Pontus Tidemand / Jonas Andersson and Jan Kopecký / Pavel Dresler. ŠKODA is the defending champion in the WRC2 category.
The ŠKODA Motorsport Director will once again put his faith in works drivers Pontus Tidemand and Jan Kopecký in 2017. However, he is also looking forward to the guest appearance of Andreas Mikkelsen.
The 27-year-old Norwegian, who is now regarded as one of the world’s top rally drivers, began his rise to the top with titles in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) in 2011 and 2012. Back then, he was victorious in a ŠKODA FABIA SUPER 2000. In 2011, he made his first appearance for the Volkswagen Motorsport team at the Rally Finland, again in the successful ŠKODA FABIA SUPER 2000. He then went on to finish third overall in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) in 2014, 2015 and 2016, winning three rallies in the top tier of rallying. On 20 November 2016, Mikkelsen / Jæger were victorious at the Rally Australia, the final event for four-time world champions Volkswagen in the WRC.
Works drivers Tidemand and Kopecký will certainly be among the experienced WRC driver’s toughest rivals. After all, they have a lot of experience and victories under their belts with the ŠKODA FABIA R5. Tidemand won the WRC2 class in Portugal in 2016, while Kopecký triumphed in Spain.
The icing on the cake in a successful 2016 for ŠKODA Motorsport was the first Driver and Co-Driver title in the FIA World Rally Championship in the WRC2 category, courtesy of Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm. ŠKODA drivers Gustavo Saba and Gaurav Gill also won the continental championships in South America (CODASUR) and the Asia-Pacific region (APRC) in the ŠKODA FABIA R5. Nasser Al-Attiyah triumphed in the Middle East Rally Championship (MERC), while a further ten national titles went to drivers at the wheel of ŠKODA FABIA R5 cars. This made 2016 one of the most successful years in the 115-year history of ŠKODA Motorsport.
