Andreas Mikkelsen wins the WRC2 world championship at the wheel of his Škoda Fabia RS Rally2

• Tied in the general classification with teammate Gus Greensmith at Toksport WRT, Škoda driver Andreas Mikkelsen wins the WRC2 title
• The first edition of the Central European Rally took place this weekend, a new rally on the WRC championship calendar
• 100% Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 podium for this first WRC rally including special stages in three countries (Czech Republic, Austria, Germany)
• 17 Škoda crews finished in the top 20 of the WRC2 standings. Record broken for the 7th consecutive year.

Andreas Mikkelsen was crowned WRC2 World Champion in 2023. A three-point lead during the inaugural Central European Rally was enough for the Norwegian to claim the FIA WRC2 World Champion title for the second time. Frenchmen Nicolas Ciamin and Yannick Roche celebrated their first WRC2 victory by taking the lead over two other Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 crews, Erik Cais/Daniel Trunkát and Kajetan Kajetanowicz/Maciej Szczepaniak.

After seven rounds on gravel, the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) returned to asphalt for the first edition of the Central European Rally. The race started in front of Prague Castle, crossed Austria and finished in Passau, in southern Germany. Two short stages opened the rally on Thursday evening, without major incident. On Friday morning, rain caused standing water on parts of the stages and all vehicles in the WRC2 category were immobilized. The WRC2 crews left the Passau service park with wet tires.

Yohan Rossel, the only non-Škoda driver with championship hopes, was one of the first victims of the demanding conditions. The Frenchman went off the road in SS3 and had to retire. Andreas Mikkelsen and his co-driver Torstein Eriksen were a little luckier. The Norwegians also went off the road (SS4) but were able to continue after spectators brought their Toksport WRT Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 back onto the road. Mikkelsen and Eriksen demonstrated notable mechanical skills, which allowed them to keep their car despite no maintenance being scheduled for the remainder of the stage. However, a time loss of over ten minutes put them out of contention for victory. Teammates Gus Greensmith and Jonas Andersson also had mishaps. A puncture on the first stage of the day cost the British-Swedish duo around a minute.

At the end of the first stage, Greensmith and Andersson were in eighth position, while Mikkelsen and Eriksen were in P19. The best-placed Škoda crews in WRC2 so far were Erik Cais and Daniel Trunkát (Orsák Rally Sport) in second and French asphalt experts Nicolas Ciamin and Yannick Roche (Sarrazin Motorsport) in third.

While the Finnish crew Emil Lindholm and Reeta Hämäläinen (Hyundai) retained their position at the front of the WRC2 peloton, Erik Cais/Daniel Trunkát (Škoda) and Nicolas Ciamin/Yannick Roche (Škoda) fought for second place . At the end of the second stage, the French crew overtook their Czech competitors and started the next stage with an advantage of 2.6 seconds.

The last special changed the final result of the championship. During the first special on Sunday, leading participants Emil Lindholm and Reeta Hämäläinen were forced to park their cars due to a technical problem. This allowed Ciamin and Roche to take victory in this category. With Cais/Trunkát in second and Kajetan Kajetanowicz/Maciej Szczepaniak in third, the podium was made up of 100% Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 drivers.

” It’s incredible ! Many times I have been in a good position to get a good result in WRC2, and I am very happy to bring the trophy home this time after so many years. »

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Nicolas Ciamin, Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 driver for the Sarrazin Motorsport team

Gus Greensmith and Andreas Mikkelsen entered the final event (Power stage) in P4 and P13 respectively. Mikkelsen and Eriksen set the fastest time, which allowed Mikkelsen to win the World Champion title with a total of 111 points. Greensmith and Andersson only set the seventh fastest time due to a spin. Greensmith and Mikkelsen both finished with 111 points in the general classification, and in this case individual results are taken into account, which puts Andreas Mikkelsen in the lead with three WRC2 victories (Italy-Sardinia, Estonia, Greece), compared to two for Greensmith (Mexico, Portugal).

“It’s an incredible feeling to have won the WRC2 title for the second time. I thank the spectators for bringing us back on the road on Friday. We then focused on the Power Stage, and this strategy worked. »

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Andreas Mikkelsen, WRC2 World Champion

Rally number: 17

Škoda crews not only captured all podium places in the WRC2, WRC2 Challenger and WRC Masters Cup categories, but there are also 17 Škoda crews in the top 20 of the WRC2 standings.

Central European Rally, October 26-29, 2023, WRC2 Results

Nicolas Ciamin/Yannick Roche (FRA/FRA), Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, (3:04:33.0 h)
Erik Cais/Daniel Trunkát (CZE/CZE), Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, (+32.7 sec)
Kajetan Kajetanowicz/Maciej Szczepaniak (POL/POL), Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, (+2:06.9 min)
Gus Greensmith/Jonas Andersson (GBR/SWE), Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, (+3:01.6 min)
Mikołai Marczyk/Daniel Dymurski (POL/POL), Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, (+3:34.5 min)
Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (ANA/ANA), Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, (+3:59.0 min)

WRC2/Drivers ranking (after 12 of 13 rallies)

Andreas Mikkelsen (NOR), Škoda, 111 points (on 6 rallies)
Gus Greensmith (GBR), Škoda, 111 points (on 7 rallies)
Yohan Rossel (FRA), Citroën, 104 points (on 7 rallies)
Oliver Solberg (SWE), Škoda, 91 points (from 7 rallies)
Sami Pajari (FIN), Škoda, 86 points (on 7 rallies)

WRC2 Challenger standings (after 12 of 13 rallies)

Sami Pajari (FIN), Škoda, 118 points (on 7 rallies)
Kajetan Kajetanowicz (POL), Škoda, 108 points (from 6 rallies)
Nikolay Gryazin (ANA), Škoda, 96 points (from 6 rallies)

WRC Masters Cup standings (after 12 of 13 rallies)

Alexander Villanueva (ESP), Škoda, 105 points (on 6 rallies)
Armin Kremer (DEU), Škoda, 87 points (on 6 rallies)
Johannes Keferböck (AUT), Škoda, 76 points (on 5 rallies)