BREEN: THIS IS MY BIG CHANCE
Hyundai WRC squad offers lifeline for ousted Irishman
Craig Breen aims to use next month’s Rally Finland return as a springboard back into full-time World Rally Championship employment.
The Irishman was confirmed as part of Hyundai Motorsport’s squad for the Jyvaskyla event last week.
Breen told MN: “My job in Finland is to bring Hyundai manufacturer points. In doing that, I intend to make sure I leave Finland with my stock as high as possible – it’s not the intention to do one event and wave goodbye.”
Competing in six different cars in the first half of the year will help Craig Breen when it comes to driving the all-important seventh – the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC – at next month’s Rally Finland.
Breen returns to the WRC with a one-off drive for the Korean manufacturer determined to make a good and lasting impression aboard the Hyundai.
So far this year, he has driven an MG Metro 6R4, Ford Fiesta R5, Skoda Fabia R5, Volkswagen Polo R5 and the Pantera RX6 rallycross car at the opening Titans RX round in France on Sunday ( ).
“What’s really important when you’re driving a new car is the ability to jump into it and feel confident as quickly as you can,” Breen told MN. “That’s not easy, but the more different and new cars you drive, the more straightforward it becomes – and I’ve done a lot of chopping and changing this season. That was part of the thinking when we agreed to drive such a wide variety of cars earlier this year.
“I’m absolutely not saying that I’ll be able to jump into the Hyundai and take it straight to the edge, but I do think this will help me find comfort and confidence quicker.”
Breen will test the i20 Coupe WRC for the first time in Finland on Saturday before crossing the Baltic Sea for Rally Estonia, his maiden competitive outing with the concern.
“I’ve missed this all so much,” said Breen, who lost his Citroen seat at the end of last season.
“I’ve been looking out for possible opportunities all year and, when there was a chance of something for Finland, we started to work on it. Everything came together around Sardinia time and now I just can’t wait to get started.
“The team has told me they want me there to challenge for manufacturer points and that’s what I want to do. I’ll be waiting in the wings. I’m under no illusion here, I know it’s not going to be easy to jump into a World Rally Car back at the highest level, where the pace is so hot.”
Breen’s participation in Finland is a one-off, but he’s determined to use the opportunity to return himself to a regular WRC seat.
“I’m desperate to be back in the WRC full time,” he said. “I’ve a job to do with Hyundai and I will do that to the best of my ability, but I don’t just want to wave goodbye to them then. I want to leave Finland with my stock as high as possible. I have to do everything I can to make myself as attractive as possible for the future.”
While Breen has rallies planned for the second half of the season, he says everything stops for the WRC.
“I made this clear at the start of the year,” he said. “I’ve told you, what I’ve been doing is social rallying. I’m sure that’s not how the teams running the cars have seen it, but it’s what it’s been about for me – driving lots of different cars on great rallies. But when it
comes to the WRC, everything else stops. Back in the world championship is the only place I want to be.”
Breen joins Thierry Neuville and Andreas Mikkelsen at Hyundai for a rally where the i20 has traditionally struggled. He has, however, watched with interest as the i20 has evolved in the last six months.
Breen added: “I know the team has worked really hard on the car, they’re doing absolutely everything possible to land a world title this year. I have no reference with the car and we know that [Finland] has been an area where they have perhaps struggled a little bit in the past, but they’ve clearly worked very, very hard to understand that and get on top of it. They’ve put all the resources towards the job and to have the chance to join them in that effort is a real honour.”
Hyundai Motorsport director Andrea Adamo welcomed Breen and co-driver Paul Nagle to the team, telling MN: “We need somebody in the third car and you ask me, why Craig? I tell you, we have seen his last results [in Finland and in the WRC] and they are the good ones and him and his co-driver Paul are making a good job. I never met these guys before they come to the company, when they came to discuss [the potential to drive for Finland], but Craig has demonstrated his class at this event in the past and has a lot of experience, which will be invaluable to us.”
On the subject of a longer-term deal, Adamo said: “Honestly, at the moment, I think the deal will go just for one round.
“Let me say, what we have to do at this moment is be realistic. We won’t go there to ask him to fight for the win. I ask him to be there, we talk about his performance, but I will not ask him to fight with [Ott] Tanak and Toyota.”
Hyundai’s line-up for Rally Germany, which follows directly after Finland, is still up in the air.
Spaniard Dani Sordo will return to join Neuville, but the third car is undecided.
Earlier this season, Adamo favoured a return to his Corsican line-up, naming Sebastien Loeb over Mikkelsen. That would, however, be Loeb’s sixth and final WRC outing of the season.
“I’m thinking deeply about what to do in Germany,”
Adamo said. “I will take a decision before the deadline of the entries.”