he Rally Spain witnessed an incredible climax. It is a long time since the World Rally Championship has seen this much drama. Andreas Mikkelsen had just finished the Power Stage and was celebrating second place in the overall standings, when the message reached him that the leader coming into the final stage – Sébastien Ogier – had crashed out. Indeed, Ogier’s badly damaged Polo R WRC was at a standstill in the middle of the road. He had skidded off the road in a tight bend and slid into a crash barrier.
Latvala then suffered a puncture with three stages remaining, losing almost eight seconds to Mikkelsen as a result. Was that the end of the all-Volkswagen battle for second place? Not at all. Latvala bounced back emphatically with a stage win on SS 22. He trailed Mikkelsen by just 1.4 seconds going into the closing Power Stage.
However, the Norwegian kept his cool and won the final stage of the rally. And this second place was ultimately to prove more valuable than anyone realised at the time. Second place dramatically became his first WRC victory in the blink of an eye. In the end, Mikkelsen finished 3.1 seconds ahead of Latvala to complete a one-two for Volkswagen. The same pair also finished first and second on the Power Stage. It was the perfect weekend for Mikkelsen, who picked up maximum points in Spain.
