Volkswagen’s Mikkelsen Earns Second Victory at Rally Poland

Although Volkswagen Motorsport leads both the driver’s and the manufacturer’s championships, it’s been quite a long time since one of their drivers actually won a rally. That’s why it’s so nice to see Andreas Mikkelsen win for only the second time at the 73^rd PZM Rally Poland.

The Polish rally went right down to the wire, with Mikkelsen sitting comfortably in second until the second-to-last stage.

“To win the rally is simply fantastic, as it is the first win together with my co-driver Anders Jæger,” said Mikkelsen after the win. “We are friends and have been through so much together. This here is very special.”

Victory looked all but certain for Ott Tanak going into the second to last stage of the rally. The Estonian driver had a healthy 18 second lead over Volkswagen’s Mikkelsen. Tanak, however, suffered a flat and lost precious time changing the tire, handing Mikkelsen the victory.

Despite the trouble, Tanak still finished the stage, and ended the rally in second place overall.

Championship leader Sebastien Ogier, meanwhile, finished six and won the final power stage, giving him another three points. Despite not winning the Rally Poland for the first time since 2013, Ogier still has a healthy lead in the driver’s championship standings with 143 points.

That gives Volkswagen Motorsport the top two positions in the championship, with Mikkelsen strengthening his claim to second place with 93 points. He leads Australia’s Haydon Paddon, who is in third with 72 points.

Jari-Matti Latvala, finally, finished Rally Poland in fifth, and now so sits in fourth, only four points behind Paddon with 68 points.

The teams next head to the fastest rally of the season in Finland at the end of the month.

The post Volkswagen’s Mikkelsen Earns Second Victory at Rally Poland appeared first on VWVortex.

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