Mikkelsen to make third Citroen WRC outing in Germany

Mikkelsen is making his second consecutive gravel outing with Citroen in Poland this weekend, but he confirmed that the French firm had taken up an option for the German round of the series in August.

He will skip Rally Finland, where Kris Meeke returns alongside Craig Breen and Khalid Al-Qassimi, and will line up in a fourth C3 WRC alongside Meeke and Breen.

“I’m really happy,” Mikkelsen told Motorsport.com. “We saw the speed this Citroen has on the asphalt stages in Corsica earlier this year and to have the chance to drive it in Germany is fantastic for me.

"We will have a good test in Germany before the rally, so it’s all good.”

That news has sparked further debate on a full-time Citroen deal for Mikkelsen, but the Norwegian’s manager Erik Veiby says no such agreement is in place and his driver would be free to drive for other teams after Germany.

“This is essentially another one-off deal," Veiby told Motorsport.com. "It’s only for Germany.

"There’s nothing really on the table with Citroen after this, but we are still talking with Hyundai and with Toyota about the future.”

Asked if it was possible for Mikkelsen to drive for another team before the end of the season, Veiby replied: “Yes, absolutely. Like I said, we are talking.

"The main focus is to get Andreas in a 2017 car as much as possible for the rest of this year and back full-time next year.”

Additional reporting by Giacomo Rauli