Watch this short documentary about rallydriver Andreas Mikkelsen

"Hoccy" (Hoccy)
10/01/2013 at 13:03 • Filed to: WRC, Andreas Mikkelsen, VW, Skoda, tips

While he may be young, he's already experienced more than most rallydrivers. Learn the history about current professional VW rallydriver in this documentary. He might be a future WRC champion, you know.

DISCUSSION (40)

Fauxe > Hoccy
10/22/2013 at 16:52

I do hope he becomes a WRC champ. And dedicate that first win to the little girl.

SKiTz > Hoccy
10/22/2013 at 17:15

Are spectator injuries a common occurrence in this sport? Cuz every time I watch video footage of these events all I can think is, "HOLY CRAP THEY'RE STANDING CLOSE TO THE TRACK!!!" The cars come flying by within feet and people don't even flinch!

chumblecrumble > Hoccy
10/22/2013 at 17:17

At work, and no internet at home. Anyone got a transcription?

tek_nic > SKiTz
10/22/2013 at 17:25

They are not uncommon. Typically, spectators are observant enough that they can get out of the way when a car looses control. It's always very close, but typically they do get out of the way in time. I'm not sure if there are more spectator deaths in rally vs. other motor sports... but I would bet there are a lot more spectator injuries, at least.

ZeroOrDie - Powered By MZR > Hoccy
10/22/2013 at 17:59

What could someone possibly say to you to make you get back into that car? It'd have to be straight from the victims family.

Casper > ZeroOrDie - Powered By MZR
10/22/2013 at 18:26

I guess it depends how you look at it. Would you quit racing if you got tied up in a crash with another racer and they were killed? People assume a certain level of risk in whatever they do. Standing along a race track carries quite a lot of risk, in these races where there are no barriers separating traffic, possibly more than even the drivers. It's a tragic and sad when something goes wrong, but it's a risk of the event. No two people will react to being involved in an accident resulting in a causality the same way and each will have a significantly different view of "why" and how to deal with it.

DeMarcusStark > Fauxe
10/22/2013 at 18:27

That would be awesome!

AeroEagle333 > Hoccy
10/22/2013 at 18:37

Very cool documentary. I'll be keeping track of his progress for sure.

Reihen6 > SKiTz
10/22/2013 at 18:42

I think I recall reading somewhere, something about there being an average of 2 spectator related deaths per year related to WRC. Take it with a grain of salt though, I couldn't find the source again.

sirnicolai > Fauxe
10/22/2013 at 18:50

As an avid WRC fan for many many years, and although your suggestion would be an awesome way to honour the young rally fan who died : I dont think he's got what it takes, I havent seen anything special from him yet.

At the moment, the only potential threat I can see to Ogier's (the new Loeb) dominance over the next 5 years or more is Neuville (a young Belgian doing amazing things in his first full season).

IndyDragon > Hoccy
10/22/2013 at 18:58

Well.....Srry for everyone involved but that is the risk of attending that event but very tragic for sure

Barbarian772 > SKiTz
10/22/2013 at 18:59

Watch some old Group B videos.... it got way better over the years... back then some people were standing on the track and jumping back in the last moment....

VivaLaManual > ZeroOrDie - Powered By MZR
10/22/2013 at 19:02

I thought that was what he said; the mom and the dad basically pushed him to keep racing.

ptak appreciates old racecars > Hoccy
10/22/2013 at 19:37

Why the fuck aren't there more safety precautions? Why the fuck ? No one's at fault here besides the assholes (and I mean the organizers) who let 10-year-olds (or anyone for that matter) within range of a speeding racecar.

slowinseattle > Casper
10/22/2013 at 20:22

Casper, I agree that there is risk, but we are talking of a little girl, which to me, would imply an age of 12 or less who really doesn't have the capacity to understand the danger she would ever be in. I don't think it is too OT to state that when medical professionals deal with triage situations, they tend to place children at a higher level than what their injuries would justify. When I was on a ski patrol, I one of the other patrollers was EMT who in the course of his job had to label a 9 year old boy "black", meaning to let him die. That's a nightmare that won't go away for him. When I treated children, I had much more sympathy than guys my age. To put in simply, there is something in our DNA that drives us to protect children. Not trying to come down on you, just offer my perspective on this situation.

Pdb > SKiTz
10/22/2013 at 20:43

One of the main differences from other motorsports is that with Rally, its NOT a track. It's usually sections of public road, or private/publicly-held forest roads. Part of the "down to earth" appeal of rallying is that you can just go stand wherever you want with your mates and a flask of tea. It would be difficult to regulate this, but it could be done.

Having said that, why Group B let it get as bad as it did, I will never understand. As a driver, (and I have raced pro and am) I would have refused to race, through those tunnels of people.

wagnerrp > ptak appreciates old racecars
10/22/2013 at 20:47

The parents?

Giant Lobster Monster > Hoccy
10/22/2013 at 20:48

I really want him to bring the fight to Ogier. Right now all eyes are on Neuville. I'm annoyed that Loeb didn't play for at least one entire season.

Casper > slowinseattle
10/22/2013 at 21:24

There's nothing to come down on, I agree. It will vary person by person. The EMT analogy is a good example. I know several EMTs as while it is part of their job, it has far more to do with the person than anything. For some people children are a trigger bigger than simple compassion. It's one of the most common triggers because a high percentage of people who automatically feel protective of children instinctively, everyone was at one point a child, many people have children, etc. It is especially powerful in parents running high on hormones or those with traumatic triggers in their past.

Really there are so many aspects that impact the individual reactions it is virtually impossible to anticipate someones reaction. It varies by personality type, by mood, by stress level, the list goes on and on. Obviously in this case, he was able to cope with it in some manner.

Kek360 > SKiTz
10/22/2013 at 21:31

Check these guys out. I think Rally fans just dont care. If you die you die, at least you get to experience something amazing. I for one would love to stand that close to one of those monsters. To get pelted with rocks spit out by its furious wheels trying desperately to put all that power down and get some semblance of traction. Other than actually being in the car, thats as close as you can get to sharing that moment with yourself and snarling beast of a machine. Racing fans should know that when you push yourself to the absolute limit death is a very possible outcome. Some things are worth it tho.

Mark Lipsinic > ptak appreciates old racecars
10/22/2013 at 22:32

You must be new to rallying...

StiglyWigly > Hoccy
10/22/2013 at 22:33

I wish I could drive like that, but at the same time I'm glad I don't cause some of those drops look scary as shit

slowinseattle > Casper
10/22/2013 at 23:03

All good points.

Corduroy Club. > Hoccy
10/23/2013 at 00:41

I don't think the title of this post really reflects the video. Yes the girl's death was tragic but that doesn't make the video "chilling". Very good to hear that he was able to talk to the girl and that it inspired him to continue.

Jameseshepherd > SKiTz
10/23/2013 at 01:21

Even in North America the spectators get too close and stand in the wrong place ... and as a driver, you just don't see them as you are so focused on the road/ the pace notes / the car
I hit someone who stood on the inside of a very fast blind right turn with my side mirror... the co-driver could see the guys expression as the car came toward him but I was already looking to the next turn. Heard the whump as the mirror was knocked back but thought it was a branch and the co-driver saw that he was alright so she never told me until the end of the stage. The idiot came into service later and showed me the bruise "with pride", noting I came the closest to hitting him of all the racers.
I cannot imagine what it would be like with the "human guard rails" shown in many Group B races

FormerInstants > Barbarian772
10/23/2013 at 02:43

I recall a Group B driver stating that he was only able to rally at speed by thinking of spectators like trees, otherwise he'd just be paralyzed by the risk of killing someone.

stevestamop > Pdb
10/23/2013 at 05:47

I agree with what you say, but if you were a WRC driver, you'd do it, because 1: you had to and 2: that was the way it was back then. No current f1 drivers would go race 1960's style f1 cars, aka bombs on wheels, but back then it was normal.

captdownshift > Hoccy
10/23/2013 at 07:39

check out Brakim racing incident this past week from LSPR. Incidents with spectators clearly effect drivers, even when no serious injurues occur.

Zagato-Zee > Corduroy Club.
10/23/2013 at 09:24

Are you suggesting that a headline, or story on Jalopnik doesn't meet basic journalistic standards?

Please try to remember that this site is basically a blog site with multiple posters that is frequented by more visitors than any normal blog could ever hope to see.

Joshamania > Hoccy
10/23/2013 at 11:29

I think that rally spectators can be the dumbest and most inconsiderate people on the face of the planet. I would like to think that there are *more* people standing at a respectful distance from the track so they can actually watch a race as opposed to using it for a cheap adrenaline high...more than one can see in the videos that are constantly posted to YouTube.

Idiots standing in crowds on the outside of corners especially...not just a danger to themselves, but the drivers and everyone around them. Hitting a human being at over 80MPH would be just as bad as hitting a deer and just as like to send a car careening...into a crowd perhaps...off the track. I'd like to be all "Darwin" but too many innocents, this girl included, are put in danger by idiot rally fans.

Glumminator > Hoccy
10/23/2013 at 11:44

Andreas drives with a sticker with a rose and the girls name, Elise, on his car. This he will continue to do for the rest of his carreer to honor her memory

Corduroy Club. > Zagato-Zee
10/23/2013 at 14:56

I'm not sure the point you're trying to make.. are you saying that because it's a popular blog that there's no need to try and be accurate? I'm not seeing any logic, but the poster did change the title! good stuff

anacanapana > Casper
10/23/2013 at 15:14

I think killing a middle-aged male spectator or a fellow driver would be quite different than killing a 10 year old girl, which is what happened in Mikkelsen's incident.

It's hard to say a ten year old is capable of "assuming a risk" when she still gets a pack of crayons at a restaurant.

anacanapana > Corduroy Club.
10/23/2013 at 15:16

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Casper > anacanapana
10/23/2013 at 15:17

The parents assumed the risk for her... as the guardians. Really, it doesn't matter about who assumed the risk, it just matters that they did and were placed in harms way. Regardless of age of consent arguments, it's a life.

anacanapana > Casper
10/23/2013 at 15:31

Yeah, I understand the whole guardian thing when it comes to something like legal liability. But you really don't think you'd feel worse about causing the death of someone who may not have understood the risk than someone who knew full well the risk he was taking? There's a reason that - in my state, at least - killing one child is a capital offense, while killing one adult isn't (unless it was during the commission of a felony). It's human nature to value a child's life because they're the ones who are supposed to live on after we're dead.

Would you say that someone dying of cancer at 90 is exactly the same as a 10 year old dying of leukemia? Why do you think people normally see a story about the former and think "at least he lived a full life" while the latter feels like a punch in the gut? I mean, either way it's just a life ending.

Dusty Ventures > sirnicolai
10/24/2013 at 01:11

Kubica

Dusty Ventures > captdownshift
10/24/2013 at 01:19

We make a cameo at 11:04 ;)

EmotionalFriend > ptak appreciates old racecars
10/24/2013 at 01:34

How do the organizers have any control over who stands beside a road? Should they put 50 miles of jersey barriers up along all the roads and dirt trails and pay security to stand every 20 feet to make sure that no one is in harm's way? No one wants injuries to happen and if there was any reasonable or financially viable way to prevent them then don't you think those options would be pursued? Anyone that isn't willing to accept the risk shouldn't stand there and watch. Blame the parents if you really must blame someone for every terrible accident that ever happens, but don't blame the organizers.

Also not to sound too callous, but spectators don't even pay so what safety is owed to them by organizers? In NASCAR or F1 you pay sometimes pretty significant money and therefor you have a reasonable expectation that the facility the race is being held in has safety features to protect spectators. In rallying it's a road or a dirt path. you walk up to the road and MAYBE there's some caution tape between some sticks to let you know that you're about to step onto an active race track.

Hoccy > sirnicolai
10/24/2013 at 05:35

He won the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, the series below the WRC, two years in a row (as said in the video), and he's the youngest ever to score points in the WRC. The talent is there, but he's only 24 and hasn't had a full season in the WRC yet.

So no wonder you haven't seen anything special from him yet. Neuville didn't do that well last season either. Give them time, it's rare that anyone win the WRC before they're 29-30.