Before becoming a professional rally driver, Mikkelsen competed in alpine skiing, representing Norway's national junior team in slalom and giant slalom. He also raced in motocross at national junior level in 2003 and 2004. This multi-sport background shaped a technically precise driving style that would prove adaptable across different rally surfaces.
After obtaining a British driver's licence at 17, Mikkelsen began competing in rallies across the United Kingdom and Ireland in a Ford Focus RS WRC. He won numerous events in the British club rally scene, including the Quinton Stages, the Coracle, the Plains, the Bulldog, and the Cambrian Rally, as well as the Saaremaa Rally in Estonia.
Mikkelsen made his WRC debut at the 2006 Rally GB, retiring after going off the road on the fourteenth stage. He contested eight WRC events in 2007, recording a best result of ninth at Rally Ireland. In 2008, he claimed fifth at the Swedish Rally after receiving coaching from former double world champion Marcus Grönholm, becoming the youngest driver to score WRC points at that time.
In 2010, Mikkelsen won the SWRC class at the season-ending Wales Rally GB and competed part-time in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge with a Ford Fiesta S2000, finishing second on the Rally Scotland.
Mikkelsen joined the Škoda UK Motorsport team for the 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge season. After a difficult start that included retirement on the opening stage at Monte Carlo, he turned the season around to win Rally Cyprus and claim the IRC title, becoming the youngest driver to win the IRC championship at the time.
He retained the title in 2012 by winning at the Azores and in Romania, plus collecting five second-place finishes across the season. Mikkelsen became the first driver to win the IRC — and its successor the ERC — in two consecutive years.
Mikkelsen joined Volkswagen Motorsport as the team's third driver from 2013 to 2016, driving the Polo WRC. After a quiet 2013 learning season, he broke through in 2014 with three second-place finishes and two thirds, finishing third in the world championship. He achieved his first WRC outright victory in Spain in 2015, adding seven third-place results on his way to another third in the standings.
In 2016, Mikkelsen won twice more — in Poland and Australia — and again finished third in the championship. His three consecutive third-place championship finishes from 2014 to 2016 represented a benchmark of consistency at the top level. When Volkswagen announced its shock withdrawal from the WRC at the end of 2016, Mikkelsen was left without a factory drive.
In early 2017, Mikkelsen drove three WRC2 rounds for Škoda, winning at Monte Carlo and Tour de Corse. He then joined the Citroën World Rally Team mid-season for his debut in the new Rally1 Citroën C3 WRC at Rally Italy, finishing second in Germany.
For 2018, Mikkelsen signed with Hyundai Motorsport alongside Thierry Neuville, Dani Sordo, and Hayden Paddon. The season began promisingly with third at Sweden before a run of setbacks left him sixth overall. The 2019 season was more consistent — he collected one second and two thirds despite missing or retiring from six of fourteen events — and he finished fourth in the championship. Hyundai did not renew his contract for 2020.
After a difficult 2020 with limited opportunities, including a co-drive with Petter Solberg at Sardegna and a WRC3 win at Monza, Mikkelsen joined Toksport WRT for 2021. Driving a Škoda Fabia R5/Rally2 evo, he won both the WRC2 championship and the European Rally Championship in the same season, a feat achieved by no other driver. He remained with Toksport and Škoda through 2023, during which he helped develop the new Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 and won his second WRC2 title.
Mikkelsen returned to Hyundai Motorsport for selected top-category appearances in 2024, sharing the car with Dani Sordo and Esapekka Lappi on a part-time basis. He returned to Toksport and Škoda for another WRC2 campaign in 2026.
Mikkelsen's career spans two distinct chapters: a sustained run at the top level with three of the sport's biggest factory programmes in the 2010s, and a second phase as one of WRC2's dominant forces. His IRC double in 2011 and 2012 predated both eras, establishing him early as a driver capable of sustained championship performance.
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