Mikkelsen’s WRC2 ambitions at a crossroads

Although the 33-year-old made his return to the FIA World Rally Championship at Vodafone Rally de Portugal earlier this month - his first start since September last year - he has acknowledged that his participation in future events hinges on securing the necessary funding.

Despite stopping to change a wheel midway through the opening day in Portugal, Mikkelsen managed an impressive third-place finish in the WRC2 category. Looking ahead, he has entered Rally Italia Sardegna, however, any further outings beyond the 1 - 4 June fixture remain uncertain.

“Of course I would like to drive as much as possible,” Mikkelsen told WRC.com, “but for that, the budget needs to be there also. At the moment I don’t have the budget to do a full championship, but we’ll see.

“We started here [in Portugal] and we can do Sardinia, but there’s no plan to do the whole championship. It’s just these two rallies for now, and let’s see for the rest of the season what the possibilities are.”

Outside of competition, Mikkelsen also faces other commitments after becoming a father for the first time late last year.

Reflecting on the impact of his newfound parenthood, he added: “Maybe the phone calls to home in the evening have become a little bit longer, and we also do the video as well because I want to follow the developments back home!

“While I'm driving, I'm fully focused and in my zone. But as soon as we park up for the day and relax, for sure I am missing home - there is definitely something missing.”