What happens when you get Norway’s downhill gold medallist going head to head in a race with VW’s WRC driver Andreas Mikkelsen? What you get is a wonderful concoction of excitement, thrill and daredevilry
Story: Aninda Sardar
You know there’s something special going on when you hear the roar of a full-bodied WRC competition car mixed with the soft swish of skis break the spectral silence of Norway’s breathtakingly beautiful fjord scenery. Indeed, it wasn’t just any other day, for embroiled in head to head combat in a gladiatorial challenge were Andreas Mikkelsen and Aksel Lund Svindal.
Who are they? Well, for those of you who are not into motorsport (specifically World Rally Championship – WRC), Andreas is a rally driver who competes in the World Championship series for Volkswagen Motorsport and is running in second place overall with 83 points under his belt and six rallies still to go. For those of you who are not into any sport, Aksel is Norway’s downhill gold medallist. He’s also won two World Championship gold medals in the 2006-2007 season and won the overall World Cup Title at the same time.
The incredibly talented Scandinavian duo took each other on in a 29-kilometre dash on the world-famous Lyseveien road in the southwest of Norway, which features 27 hairpins. Mikkelsen was to be at the wheel of his 318-PS Polo R WRC while Svindal would be on his skis. The latter would be flat-out off-piste, while Mikkelsen would have to wind his way between massive snowbanks, some of which towered up to eight metres in height. All the time, both racers were up against the clock too. The result was some spectacular action.
