Everyone had lost faith in him.

He was 30 years old, had won World and European Championship medals, and been at the top of international rallying, but now nothing worked. In Monte Carlo, he lost a wheel and had to retire, in Mexico he got a flat tire and retired. He had gone from being a winner to losing again and again throughout 2018 and 2019. Even those closest to him, who have followed him closely all these years, asked him: "Isn't it time for you to retire, Andreas?"

"I started to doubt myself: 'Have I lost it? Am I even in balance?'", Andreas Mikkelsen says

He sits surrounded by car tires and hubcaps in a workshop in the Norwegian town of Lier. The smell of rubber and oil fills the nostrils.

"For the first time, I doubted myself. I wondered if they were right, that I was actually finished."

But it was at that moment that he made a choice. He made a deal with himself. A deal that would be crucial for his future direction.

In his right element

The racing suit is off. The helmet is put away. The Andreas Mikkelsen sitting here, in Air Jordans, jeans, and a white shirt, doesn't have a protective cage around him like in the rally car he usually drives. Here, there is no coach or co-driver to get instructions from.

It's just Andreas here. The one who grew up in Oslo, who pursued alpine skiing and made it to the junior national team. The one who had to give up his skiing career due to bad knees, switched to rallying, and won everything he set his mind to. The one who lost all financial support after the financial crisis and had to work to secure new funding himself. The one who has broken his ribs, punctured a lung, and been involved in a fatal accident.

It's just him right here.

Now he is in his 17th year in the world elite of rallying. It has been 17 years of ups and downs and constant pressure to perform. For 17 years, he has fought to be the fastest over the next hilltop and in the sharp turns. He has loved every second. Competing and fighting for victory is like a drug for him. He has turned setbacks and failures into victories and successes. He had a huge rally contract terminated, but once again he has returned.

This has meant greater successes and trophies than he thought possible. And at the same time, setbacks, which he describes as the hardest he has experienced. But which have also given him a life lesson he wouldn't have been without.

"I have always been extremely positive. Where others see problems, I see opportunities – even when things look bleak. But I have faced fear and overcome it," he says

The first challenge 

He faced his first challenge at the age of 18. His father, who had sponsored his rally career, had lost a lot of money due to the financial crisis. The message to Andreas was clear: "You must give up this investment and focus on your education."

It was in the fall of 2009 at the Norwegian race Rally Larvik. He started well and was in the lead. Then he came over a hilltop at 140 kilometers per hour. The asphalt was wet, and the car was thrown off course. The car went off track and hit 10-year-old Elise. She died. While Andreas tried to gather himself and his thoughts about what had happened, Andreas' co-driver came over: "The girl's mother wants to talk to you." 

"I expected to be yelled at and scolded, which I had accepted. But when I stood face to face with the deceased girl's mother, something entirely different happened. She first gave me a long, heartfelt hug. Then we had a very special conversation that I will never forget."

He pauses before continuing. His gaze clearly shows that the incident still affects him.

"She had just experienced the world's greatest sorrow but managed to show extreme compassion. "You must never blame yourself for the accident", she said. And I had to promise to continue racing. The meeting with her will always be a part of me. Without her support, I wouldn't have been able to continue my career."

He looks up with tearful eyes.

"Since that day, I've always driven with the girl's name 'Elise' on my helmet."

Mentality

To outsiders, it may seem simple. You're sitting in a car trying to be the first to cross the finish line. How demanding can it be? Andreas knows the answer.  

"Rally is a very mentally exhausting sport. You sit in a car for three days, where it can be 67 degrees hot. Your body takes a beating, and you have to handle everything extremely quickly. Rally is the most risky sport on four wheels, without the same safety around the track as, for example, in Formula 1. You need to have confidence and be self-assured when making decisions, and that requires mental strength."

– How do you develop those qualities? 

"They are built up over time. If I crashed at the start of my career, I spent three or four races rebuilding my mental strength because I was afraid of doing it again. Now I can crash and quickly find my right level of excitement again. I know it's part of the game, and I don't need to be afraid."

– Have you learned a lot about yourself during your career?

"A lot. Not just about my driving skills, but also about who I am. What I'm made of. I've found that my extreme positivity is good because I always see a solution to a problem."

The right people around you 

It's good to have someone to collaborate with. For Andreas Mikkelsen, no one is more important than the man next to him in the car: The co-driver.

"Having the right people around you is just as important as what you do yourself," he says with a determined look.

"One mistake can have fatal consequences. That's why we need to trust and have confidence in each other. But we also need to be able to laugh together. If there's one thing that's become clearer to me in recent years, it's how important it is to have fun at work."

He smiles. 

"Now I have a new co-driver, Torstein Eriksen. We are different types, but we complement each other well. Even though I'm the one who loves to compete and deliver results when it matters most, he's the type who just loves motorsport. «Today it would be great to drive rally», he might say. I like to hear that."

Just one more chance

Back to 2019. The year Andreas heard he was finished as a rally driver. After two seasons with the South Korean car brand Hyundai, the dark thoughts began to take over more and more.  

"In the cars from Citroën and Škoda, I fit like a glove. But my driving style didn't suit a Hyundai. You really get tested when you face adversity over a long period," he says. 

That's when he made a deal with himself. 

"Instead of letting myself fall apart, I thought: 'Just give me one more chance, and I'll show them.' Put me in a new car, and you'll really see me perform. And if I don't... Then I'm done."

He switched to his old car brand Škoda, moved down a division to WRC2, and started winning again. In 2021, he became both European and world champion.

Trust yourself

"If others can learn something from my experiences, it must be: Believe in yourself. Even if others say you're not good enough, don't betray yourself. Keep believing that you are good enough. It was crucial when I was about to break in 2019."

– How do you find that strength?

"It's difficult, especially when those who know you best start to doubt you. But you know yourself better than anyone else. And if you trust yourself enough, you can turn all adversity into success... In the end, the victory will also feel much greater."

Now he has taken responsibility for his career and become his own manager. Because no one will negotiate on his behalf or talk to the car manufacturers like he can. 

"I could never have done that 10 years ago, when I neither had the experience nor enough knowledge to do it. But if there's one thing I've learned, it's that a good understanding of people is essential. When I was part of Hyundai, I had a team leader who, while I was standing right next to him, sent my manager text messages about asking me to put on the team gear. That's not how you communicate."

He smiles and stretches his arms, filling the workshop. 

"Good communication with the people you work with is crucial for success. Now I have all the necessary tools and know what it takes to become a world champion again. And I can thank each and every one of the challenges I've faced along the way."

What we learned from Andreas

1. Trust yourself
   No one knows you better than yourself. 
   
   
2. Be positive
   See opportunities in challenges.
   
   

3. Good communication

   Build each other up and maintain a good tone with those you work with. It makes everyone a little better. 

Photographer: Nikolaj Schwaner  

Journalist: Lasse Lønnebotn 

MAN IN THE SHIRT "The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood" - quote by Theodore Roosevelt in Paris, 1910. In the portrait series "Man in the Shirt," BARONS meets individuals who have put themselves in play and at risk. Where do they find courage? What is the most important thing they have learned along the way? And what can we learn from them?