Mikkelsen kicked off his season with a sixth place in Monte Carlo and achieved the same result in Croatia. However, the time gap to the leaders was still considerable, over four minutes.
The Norwegian attributed his slow pace to a lack of experience, as although he has many top-class WRC rallies under his belt, he has competed in a lower class in recent seasons.
“On day one and day two, the time difference was quite big, but it was narrowing down. It’s really about having confidence in the car. It requires training and time in the car, and knowing the stages as well as the top drivers do. I’m sure we’ll also be able to be there, Mikkelsen told RallyJournal.com.
“I think the race was more difficult than we expected. I knew it was going to be tough. I haven’t done this event in many years. The speed the guys are going at is close to perfect on every stage. Without having knowledge of the stages, I struggled. I did my best, but still, we’re a bit too far off the pace.”
For the next WRC event in Portugal in May, Hyundai’s third car will be driven by Dani Sordo, who is also expected to be behind the wheel in early June in Sardinia. It was initially thought that the three fast gravel rallies in Poland, Latvia, and Finland this summer would be Esapekka Lappi‘s domain.
However, Mikkelsen revealed that his next driving stint for Hyundai would be in the Rally Poland.
“That’s the problem, not having enough time in the car. Next time we’ll be in Poland,” Mikkelsen confirmed.
Hyundai’s WRC team has not yet confirmed their lineup for Sardinia nor for the summer’s events. Mikkelsen, Lappi, and Sordo are rotating this year in Hyundai’s third Rally1 car.
