19 Oct 12

Mikkelsen:
not washing
makes me
faster

Rally drivers are not widely known as being an overly superstitious bunch but Andreas Mikkelsen breaks the mould.

Mikkelsen, currently seventh overall on Rally Italia Sardegna in a Volkswagen Motorsport Skoda Fabia Super 2000, has revealed a superstition that involves not getting washed.

“If I have not-such a good first day in my rally car for the second day I never shower! I don’t know why, but it gives me this wildman feeling,” said Mikkelsen. “If I have some time to catch up on the second day, I say to myself ‘okay, I need to be a wildman tomorrow’ and not showering is part of being wild.

“On a rally in the Ukraine last year, when we needed to try and catch up 20 seconds on Jan Kopecky, I went straight to bed with no shower and jumped straight into the same clothes as I wore the day before. Then I’m a wildman - and it’s flat out!”

Mikkelsen is sporting a slight unkempt look on Rally Italia Sardegna although it has nothing to do with dodging showers. The Norwegian’s luggage went missing during transit to the Mediterranean island and, consequently, he’s not been able to shave.