Volkswagen's Andreas Mikkelsen was fastest in Shakedown test for Rallye Deutschland in Trier, Germany on Thursday (August 18th).

The first World Rally Championship weekend taking place on tarmac got underway with the traditional Shakedown test on Thursday.

The Rallye Deutschland is the opening pure asphalt rally of the season and the ninth round of the championship promises to be technical and challenging.

Jari Matta Latvala admitting "it takes time to acclimatise to the sealed-surface roads" after a run of six races on the gravel.

Andreas Mikkelsen, here in the Volkswagen, set the pace ahead of the start of the rally proper, with a time of 2:21.4 around the 4.55-kilometre (2.8-mile) Konz test.

Going into this rally Mikkelsen sat second in the overall standings.

Spain's Dani Sordo finished second fastest, with a deficit of just 0.2.

Defending treble champion Sebastien Ogier crossed the line a further 0.2 seconds slower than Sordo to claim a share of third in his Volkswagen.

Latvala finished with the same time as Ogier to also end the test with the third fastest time.

Heading into the rally, Ogier leads the championship standings by a vast margin, 143 points.

Mikkelsen is his nearest challenger, with 98 points.