Mikkelsen clinches rally driver of the year award

Defending Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion Andreas Mikkelsen collected yet more silverware when he was presented with Romanian title Rally Magazin’s Rally Driver of the Year Award for 2011 during the Sibiu Rally in the country last month.

Mikkelsen became IRC champion for the first time following a thrilling five-way title showdown in Cyprus last November, which was shown live on Eurosport. He beat competition from the World Rally Championship and Romanian national championship to the coveted award.

“It’s always nice to win an award and I really appreciate the support from the fans in Romania,” said 23-year-old Mikkelsen, who claimed his second victory of the season in Sibiu in a ŠKODA UK Motorsport Fabia Super 2000.

After eight rounds of this year’s all-action IRC, Mikkelsen heads the drivers’ standings. The series resumes on Barum Czech Rally Zlín at the end of this month.