“I am Andreas Mikkelsen”

I tried to come up with another title for this article for some time, but no matter what I “invented” it simply wasn’t good enough or had more impact and meaning than the actual title of this short documentary film.

Allow me to be very honest for a moment here. I did not have a particular opinion about Andreas Mikkelsen up until now, I admired him for the titles he won in the IRC obviously and he was showing signs of solid progress in Volkswagen Motorsport WRC team, but I really cannot say I “knew” the guy. Despite all the titles and victories, he still pretty much is a kind of a newcomer to the sport, part of the new generation. Besides there were other stories in and around the WRC which overshadowed Andreas and his entry to the sport’s top category. I just didn’t know the guy. But it all changed this evening…

I noticed tweets and posts about this documentary, featuring Andreas talking about his career, but I thought it to be just another “hello world” video with bits and pieces from the early days of someone’s racing career. I did put it on my to-do list but then I forgot about it. But tonight I saw this film on Youtube, after a tip from McNewbie (who, in her own right, is another rally nutter).

“I am Andreas Mikkelsen” does indeed talk about Andreas’ career, and right away he hits you very hard – he always got what he wanted, he had several pairs of skiis, he had several dirtbikes, he was the lucky one and he knew it. This man just became someone else in my mind, Andreas skipped few levels of gaining admiration and appreciation. The next story he tells, however, brings you to the edge of your seat and suddenly you realize just how incredibly immense rallying is and what kind of challenges drivers must learn to expect and live through. Andreas spoke about it much better than I could so I won’t even try to get into any more details. Other than to say that as of now I am really seeing this young man in a new light, not only because of his results but because of the way he decided to let the world know about that other him, the human and the person behind the wheel.

Do watch this.

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