Mikkelsen admits he was "anxious" before Citroen test

Mikkelsen has not competed in a World Rally car since last year's Rally Australia seven months ago, having been left on the sidelines after Volkswagen's pull-out last year.

His competitive running in 2017 has been limited to a trio of WRC2 outings in a Skoda Fabia R5, but the Norwegian will make his first top-level start of the season for Citroen in Italy, where he replaces Stephane Lefebvre.

Mikkelsen had feared his speed might have dipped as he'd been out of WRC machinery for so long, but his first test in Citroen's C3 WRC in the south of France confirmed he's right where he wants to be.

"I was a little bit anxious before of the test with Citroen," Mikkelsen told Motorsport.com. "I was the same before I tested the Hyundai earlier this year. But it was OK, the test went well.

"It was really nice to be back in a proper fast car and there's no doubt the C3 is a fast car. The feeling with the speed in the C3 was quite normal for me. When you have been at a good level for long time, it's OK.

"Look at Elfyn [Evans] he has shown what you can do when you can drive – he was in WRC2 for a whole season, but came back and set fastest times in Monte Carlo."

Mikkelsen met the team at Citroen's headquarters in Versailles just before the test and he admitted the desire to return the squad to former glories was obvious.

"The team was all really nice and you can see they are really motivated," he said. "They are working really hard and they're working to make a good car even better. I hope I will be able to help in some way.

"Like I said, the C3 is a fast car, but there's potential to make it even faster."

Fourth in shakedown

Ahead of his return to WRC competition, Mikkelsen scored the fourth-best time in the Rally Italy Thursday morning shakedown, placing ahead of Citroen teammates Kris Meeke and Craig Breen.

"The priority this morning was to get a good feeling in the Citroën C3 WRC," he said.

"We are still learning about the car and the shakedown helped us to get into ‘rally mode’.

"It's all about feeling in rallying and that's what we're trying to develop as we complete more kilometres in the car."