Subiect: Andreas Mikkelsen: drumurile mele preferate

Up hill, down dale and everything in between - Skoda works pilotului Andreas Mikkelsen tells us his favourite rally stagesWhats your favourite piece of road? Is it fast, twisty, narrow or wide? Every enthusiast has an answer, but few can top a rally drivers answers for quality or variety. Mud, snow or tar, theyve seen it all. Fast, technical, tree-căptușite or teetering on a precipice, theyve done it. Always against the clock and in the heat of competition, they tackle the worlds mai dure roads in the worlds most extreme road cars.
Skodas double IRC champion, Andreas Mikkelsen, may only be 23, but he has six years of top-flight competition behind him. Hes competed across the globe in a variety of cars, and his answer to the question tells you a lot about what motivates him. There are common themes in many of his answers – notably that the bigger faster and the challenge, the happier he is – but its just as clear that to be a successful rally driver you need to be able to deliver, oricare ar fi the conditions. Here, then, are Mikkelsens 10 favourite challenges in the world...
Vargåsen - Rally Suedia
This stage has everything: blind crests, tight, technical sections and really fast bits. But everyone knows it for the salt known as Colins Crest, named in honour of 1995 world champion Colin McRae. What makes it so special is that its not just a flat-out leap; you need to have super-exacte pacenotes, your co-driver needs to call it perfectly and you need to have a very specific line. That and super-big balls. The fastest cars jumped more than 30 metres over the crest last year. Asta e an îngrozitor de long way to be in the air with no control when you are going at high speed — especially if you hit the jump off line.
Sete Cidades - Rallye Azore
This is known as the volcano stage because of the location, which is pretty spectaculoase when youre still standing, let alone going flat out in a rally car. Acolo a long section that runs along the top of a ridge, with massive drops on each side. The roads on this rally are generally very narrow, dar in some parts they really open up. That requires a very technical style of driving, and I love that. There are also sections of the event where the stages have both and gravel tarmac sections. Most drivers hate that, as the car feels so on the loose tarmac on gravel settings, but I love the challenge.
Ouninpohja - Raliul Finlandei
This is one of the most famous stages in the World Rally Championship. At 21 miles, it is a really long challenge. You are flat out on gravel, moving around the car at high speed over blind crests jumps and that just keep coming at you. It is one of those stages that you will never drive perfectly, pentru că acolo so much to take in. Experience helps, but there is too much to learn in one lifetime. The speeds are also so high that you can never take risks; if you dont respect the stage, it will bite you.
La jumătatea drumului - Wales Rally GB
I actually had a pretty big crash here in 2007. The car went over five or six times after I slid offline and clipped a bank. It a fost so bad; generally, the avarii that dont end with a sudden stop arent so big. But what I love about this stage is what also prins me out: they are fast, flowing roads, and if you miss the line then you must accept you will lose a lot of time or risk going off. The crests are frequent and they often tighten, so you must drive with confidence and listen to your co-driver, not your eyes.
Glen Roy - Rally Insula Man
Oamenii spun că șoferii de raliu sunt nebuni, dar după raliuri pe Insula Man știu că sunt complet sănătos în comparație cu bicicliștii. Despre asta este vorba în raliuri reale: etape strânse, întortocheate, terenuri deschise, rapide, agrafe de păr, creste, colțuri oarbe și orice altceva între ele. Alegerea o etapă mare nu este ușor - toate sunt mari - dar Glen Roy este unul dintre cele care se lipeste in mintea mea, nu în ultimul rând pentru că eu încă mai dețin cel mai rapid timp vreodată peste ea. La puțin peste 4. 5 mile în lungime, sa scurt, dar este, de asemenea, distractiv. Acesta este un astfel de miting special; are o atmosferă unică, iar într-o zi Ill găsește o modalitate de a se întoarce acolo.
Molls Gap - Circuit of Ireland
Rallying is a huge sport in Ireland, and the Molls Gap stage is perhaps the most famous of all. It is so fast, and it cuts through open scenery so everyone gets fantastic views — not just the spectators, but also the competitors. In 2007 I had a great run and took the record for the fastest time. Then the next car took the record off me. Id conquered one of the best roads in one of the mai dure countries for rallying for all of two minutes!
Anadiou - Raliul Cipru
This isnt the best stage or even best rally in the world, but it is home to some of my most intense emotions. After a difficult to start my 2011 season when I crashed 400 de metri de into my first event with the Skoda team, we all worked hard to pull it together. And after all that hard work, here I was at the last stage of the season with the title in my grasp. I had a big lead, so I just needed to finish. But how do you concentrate in those situations when theres no pressure to drive fast? It really is hard to drive at six-tenths when you spend your life going flat out, and my solution is to drive more sideways for the spectators. There is less chance of crashing but it still requires your total concentration. So thats what I did. And at the end, total joy. To win that title was amazing — and to be able to go back and defend my title again this year was every bit as speciale.
Drummond Hill - miting al Scoției
I took my first IRC win on Rally of Scotland, and this was the stage that really stood out for me on this incredible event. Again, its really fast, full of crests and a lot of the time you are driving blind, putting your absolute trust in the pacenotes. When we recce a stage we usually video it, and Ill watch it back between two and six times. This one was definitely one I watched six times, and even then I amt learn it because it is so complex. In the dry it really is beautiful: fast, flowing and rewarding. Trouble is, it rains a lot in Scotland.
Ronde - Rallye Sanremo
This is one of the longest stages in rallying at more than 27 miles; the last time I was there, the fastest car took just under half an hour to complete the stage. I wore a heart rate monitor for the whole run, and if I tell you I averaged 155 beats per minute for the duration atunci veți get an idea of how intense it is. I peaked at 187 beats per minute. Asta e pretty high considering Im in a car strapped in a seat and just moving my arms and ankles about. Even the worlds best drivers have to learn to concentrate on going that fast for that long. It comes with experience.
Smaadola - Numedal Rally, Norvegia
This stage is a classic Norwegian snow challenge. It is up in the mountains, and is run uphill in the morning and then downhill to close the event. And let me tell you it is fast! And so beautiful. I actually co-drove through this stage once, to learn about how a rally works. I am happy to admit now that I am the worst passenger ever, and I could never be a co-pilotului. But on that downhill run it is like driving through a picture at 100mph.