Hanninen wins 2012 Circuit of Ireland Rally
Despite feeling slightly unwell after his car slid into reinforced hay bales at high speed on the Donnelly Group Circuit of Ireland Rally's first Lisburn stage on Saturday afternoon and following precautionary medical checks, the defending Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion Andreas Mikkelsen was back at the event headquarters in Armagh where he took part in a prize draw to reward volunteer marshals.
"Andreas is absolutely fine and will carry on with his normal activities as normal," said a spokesperson for Mikkelsen's team, SKODA UK Motorsport and despite the incident in Lisburn, 22-year-old Mikkelsen was able to finish the asphalt rally in a highly credible second place overall; his third podium placing out of three IRC starts this season.
As a result of his model consistency, Mikkelsen continues to lead the Intercontinental Rally Challenge convincingly with 61 points from 2012 Circuit of Ireland rally winner Juho Hanninen on 43 and Jan Kopecky on 40 - all using the all-conquering Skoda Fabia S2000.
8th April, 2012