The new car is harder to drive but faster and more powerful. If it was up to me I would drive it every day!” 

Andreas Mikkelsen and Ola Fløene got their best WRC result to date in Rally Ireland with a 9^th place, won in spite of a string of technical niggles plaguing them on almost every stage of the event.  Upon leaving Sligo in Ireland, Andreas went to M-Sport in Cumbria, England where he collected his new rally car, a Ford Focus WRC 06 and subsequently spent two days on 22 and 23 November driving it for the first time. 

The Ramsport team conducted a 200km test programme in Wales, for Andreas and co-driver Ola Fløene to familiarise themselves with the new vehicle.   Andreas said, “We were at the Walters Arena facility, close to one of the stages of Rally GB. It was a road of approximately one mile and I have to say, the car was very different from the 05 car.  It was a little more difficult to drive especially in the beginning, but at the same time it was clear right away that it’s a faster car.  When you go into the corner in this rally car you have to be 100% committed because otherwise, if you back off midway, the car will understeer and go off the road.  Although it’s harder to drive, when you get confidence with it, it’s definitely a much faster car. “ 

“The main difference from the Ford Focus WRC 06 compared to the 05 is the engine, there is more torque, more power.  The amount of grip is also improved in the 06 car, because you can run the car softer with the different dampers.” On the test, Andreas said, “We tested for two days and did about 200km.  I got used to the car in the test but because we were on the same road all the time, I knew it pretty well by the end of two days.  So I’m not really sure how it will be in Wales Rally GB.  I don’t know the roads so well there so there won’t be 100% confidence at once and it could be more difficult.  We just have to use Rally GB to learn the car.” It’s not Mikkelsen’s first outing in Rally GB, as he made his WRC debut at Rally GB 2006.

 “I drove Rally GB last year but we went off the road and had to retire before the finish.  I got through two legs first - so almost all of the stages- and I understand it’s going to be the same stages in this year’s event.  I know the route as well as you can when you’ve driven it once, compared to other drivers who have driven here maybe twenty or more times.  I remember enough for it hopefully to be good.” The Norwegian 18 year old is feeling fit and ready even after going straight from one WRC rally to a test and then into another WRC event. “Two rallies and a test in between has just been great fun for me. I feel like I’m ready for a new rally!  If it was up to me I could drive a car every day.  I’m looking forward to new experiences and new chances with a new car and it will be interesting to see how it turns out.” Henning Solberg, Jari-Matti Latvala and Matthew Wilson already drive the latest Ford Focus WRC 06.