Motorsport: Mikkelsen joins Citroen for Sardinia

Stephane Lefebvre will step aside to allow Andreas Mikkelsen to compete in Sardinia. Photo / Getty Images

Free agent WRC star Andreas Mikkelsen has agreed to join French manufacturer Citroen for WRC Sardinia in a fortnight.

The Norwegian has been without a WRC drive since Volkswagen surprisingly pulled out of the sport late last year.

He has since driven a Skoda Fabia in selected WRC2 events.

"After the first six rounds of the season, it would appear that the Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT's results have fallen a little short of the targets set at the start of the year," Citroen boss Yves Matton said.

"At the same time, Andreas Mikkelsen has been actively looking for a drive in the WRC's top category. We have therefore come to an agreement for him to compete at Rally Italia Sardegna in one of our C3 WRCs.

"I think I can say that we are all delighted with this opportunity. Andreas has a fair amount of experience at this rally, which is not the case for us since the Abu Dhabi Total WRT didn't compete in Sardinia last year."

Matton isn't setting high expectations for the three-time WRC winner however.

"Given his limited preparation, Andreas won't have a specific target for the rally. We'll be just looking for him to drive at a pace that is consistent with how comfortable he feels in the car."