Andreas Mikkelsen made his debut for Hyundai in Spain. He did not have the best weekend but despite that Mikkelsen and co-driver Anders Jæger have certainly turned heads in their first weekend as a Hyundai Motorsport crew. Setting the standard on Friday’s gravel stages, the Norwegian duo experienced a steeper learning curve when they moved onto tarmac. Even a broken windscreen on Sunday morning didn’t prevent them from seeing the positive progress they have made in Spain.
“It has been an eventful weekend for us but one that has generated a lot of positives”, Mikkelsen said.
“Our gravel pace on Friday was good, and it was a nice feeling to lead in our first event with Hyundai Motorsport. We need some more time in the car on tarmac to get the best feeling but we’ve made important progress. We couldn’t really find the confidence to push [at the end of the event]. We had to drive SS15 with the bonnet open after we didn’t secure it properly after removing the light pods following the dark early morning stage, and that also cracked the windscreen. Even so, we have been able to try some new things and to find a good direction for the future. It is very useful to have these three events to get as prepared as we can for next season.”
“It has been an eventful weekend for us but one that has generated a lot of positives”, Mikkelsen said
“I know every car is different, but I have to admit I was expecting more of myself on the tarmac stages. It was very challenging, and I struggled to find the good feeling, even though I came closer to it towards the end of the rally. We did changes to the set up during the rally, which was more suitable for my driving style. We know there are more than can be done, but we could not continue with that during the event.”
“Looking back, I have to say I am very pleased with what we did. The gravel part went extremely well, but we still need to learn more about the car when it comes to tarmac. But that will come, and there will be good results for us on tarmac with the Hyundai!”
Rett fra #RallySpania til @WalesRallyGB test med @HMSGOfficial ! Takk til @voiceofrally for intervjuet! #HyundaiNorge pic.twitter.com/POB7EiNNmH
— Andreas Mikkelsen (@AMikkelsenRally) October 13, 2017
