Mikkelsen wins in Catalunya after Ogier crash
Norwegian Volkswagen driver Andreas Mikkelsen clinched his maiden World Rally Championship victory at Rally Catalunya, after his team-mate Sebastien Ogier uncharacteristically crashed out on the final stage of the event, throwing away the bullet-proof 50 second lead he took into the final 12 km stage. Jari-Matti Latvala was second, making it a Volkswagen 1-2.
Mikkelsen and Latvala had fought tooth and nail through the final leg and were less than a second apart before Latvala punctured three stages from the end. Mikkelsen then spun in the penultimate test and the duo began the final stage showdown 1.4sec apart, the eventual winning margin was amere 3.1seconds.
Dani Sordo secured the final podium place at his home event in a Hyundai i20, a further 18.1sec back. Citroen's Mads Østberg finished fourth after demoting team-mate Kris Meeke; who spun his DS 3 and the gap between them was 1.9sec at the end of the rally. New Zealand's Hayden Paddon completed the top six in another Hyundai i20.
Thierry Neuville's hopes of a top six finish ended in the penultimate stage when a transmission problem pitched the Belgian off the road under braking. He limped through the final stage to take eighth behind Martin Prokop's Ford Fiesta RS. WRC 2 winner Pontus Tidemand and team-mate Jan Kopecký completed the leaderboard.
The final round of the 2015 season is the gravel Wales Rally GB which is based in Deeside on 12 - 15 November
Final Results - Rally Catalunya
1. MIKKELSEN/FLOENE Volkswagen Motorsport II T RC1 3:21:04.8
2. LATVALA /ANTTILA Volkswagen Motorsport M RC1 3:21:07.9
3. SORDO/MARTI Hyundai Motorsport M RC1 3:21:26.0
4. OSTBERG/ANDERSSON Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT M RC1 3:22:11.1
5. MEEKE/NAGLE Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT M RC1 3:22:13.0
6. PADDON/KENNARD Hyundai Motorsport N T RC1 3:22:28.1
7. PROKOP/TOMANEK Jipocar Czech National Team T RC1 3:25:19.0
8. NEUVILLE/GILSOUL Hyundai Motorsport M RC1 3:29:06.7
9. TIDEMAND/AXELSSON Skoda Motorsport WRC2 RC2 3:30:01.6
10.KOPECKY/DRESLER Skoda Motorsport II WRC2 RC2 3:30:12.3
26th October, 2015