Mikkelsen bids to wrap up WRC2 title at Central European Rally

The Norwegian driver enters this penultimate round of the series with a four-point lead over second-placed Citroën C3 man Yohan Rossel, with third-placed Gus Greensmith another five points in arrears. Mikkelsen has, however, started one less rally than his rivals.

Victory on the stages of Germany, Austria and Czech Republic this week would absolutely guarantee that Mikkelsen doubles up on his 2021 WRC2 crown.

For Greensmith and Rossel, on the other hand, this rally represents their final points-counting opportunity of 2023. Both are reliant on the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 driver having a poor run to stand any realistic chance of remaining in contention.

“It’s going to be a cracker,” Mikkelsen said. “All the WRC2 title contenders are on the grid, so in that sense it's all up for grabs. I, for one, like that and prefer the direct comparison. It's going to be a hot ride with a lot of competition.”

Nikolay Gryazin and Kajetan Kajetanowicz, both of whom field Škodas, are also fighting for honours in the WRC2 Challenger category, as are European Rally Championship regulars Josh McErlean and Erik Cais.

Hyundai Motorsport fields a pair of i20 N Rally2 cars for Emil Lindholm and Fabrizio Zaldivar while Roope Korhonen, this year’s WRC3 champion, steps up to a Fabia Rally2.