Mikkelsen benefited from an excellent starting position behind the leading WRC drivers. Despite this, the Norwegian was one of the biggest surprises on Friday.
Hyundai’s Norwegian driver set two fastest times in the morning and arrived at the overnight break as the lead driver. The competition is tight, with the top five separated by less than eight seconds.
Mikkelsen had competed in two WRC tarmac rallies with Hyundai’s Rally1 car earlier in the season. He secured sixth place in both Monte Carlo and Croatia, but the time gap to the leaders was worryingly large.
This raised questions about whether the Norwegian had lost his edge. However, on Friday, he showed that he still has speed, at least on gravel.
But why did he find his top form specifically on gravel with the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 car? Mikkelsen had a clear explanation for this.
“I think everything is happening much slower on gravel. I think for pretty much everyone, it’s easier to adapt to a gravel car,” Mikkelsen pondered.
“I also like to drive on tarmac, but to discover the full potential of the car on tarmac, you need to know the car so well.”
Mikkelsen leads the rally by 1.8 seconds over Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä. Toyota’s Elfyn Evans is two seconds behind the Hyundai driver.
Mikkelsen’s performance on Friday ensured him the best possible starting position for Saturday’s stages as well.
“It’s been a good day. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow. It will be tougher for us, for sure, because the road cleaning will not have a big effect tomorrow, since the guys are very close to me now,” Mikkelsen predicted.
Seven special stages are scheduled for Saturday in Rally Poland.
