Andreas Mikkelsen to make third WRC outing for Citroen in Germany

The Norwegian - without a full-time drive in the championship after Volkswagen's withdrawal at the end of 2016 - was first brought into Citroen's line-up for Rally Italy, a move prompted by the team's results falling "a little short of the targets set at the start of the year".

Mikkelsen finished eighth in that event and was later retained by Citroen for Rally Poland, which opted to drop team regular Kris Meeke in favour of giving Mikkelsen another run.

While preparing for this weekend's event in Poland, Mikkelsen told Autosport he would also contest Rally Germany for the French firm - which will mark his first asphalt outing in a 2017 WRC car.

He is expected to contest the August 17-20 event alongside Meeke, Craig Breen and Stephane Lefebvre.

"I'm happy," said Mikkelsen.

"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 sparked further debate on a full-time Citroen deal for Mikkelsen.

The Norwegian's manager Erik Veiby told Autosport no such agreement was in place and his driver would be free to drive for other teams after Rally Germany.

"This is essentially another one-off deal," said Veiby.

"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 '17 car as much as possible for the rest of this year and back full-time next year."