WRC: Mikkelsen tops Rally GB shakedown

Volkswagen driver Andreas Mikkelsen posted fastest time at this morning's Wales Rally GB shakedown stage.

Mikkelsen was three tenths of a second faster over the two-mile Clocaenog stage than his fellow Polo drivers Sebastien Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala, who were tied on second quickest, ensuring Volkswagen a clean sweep for the German manufacturer. The Norwegian completed four runs in the test and clinched the scratch time on his third attempt.

"It's a good morning," said Mikkelsen, who used to live in Ruthin, the venue for remote shakedown service. "I have good memories of this place and these roads. I love this rally, it's like another home event for me. I really want to go well here."

Mikkelsen is chasing his first WRC win in Wales this week, but will face huge competition from both Ogier and Latvala. With both drivers' and manufacturers' championships sorted, the Volkswagen crews have been given the green light to fight for the right to stand on the podium's top step in Llandudno on Sunday.

M-Sport's Robert Kubica was first of the non-Polos, nine tenths of a second off Mikkelsen and one tenth ahead of Ott Tanak. The Estonian is back in a Fiesta RS WRC for this event and running a new-specification DMACK tire.

British drivers Kris Meeke (Citroen) and Elfyn Evans (M-Sport) were tied in sixth spot. Meeke wanted to get as much running under his DS3 WRC as possible and completed seven runs at the stage. That 14 miles represents Meeke's only gravel testing for his home round of the championship after Citroen elected not to run a pre-event test.