Breen needs to break vicious cycle

The Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid driver has endured a torrid mid-season, with another crash prematurely ending his hopes of a Repco Rally New Zealand victory on day one. That shunt was his fourth accident in five events.

The Irishman is aware of the mounting pressure on him to deliver a result, but he’s also aware that pushing hard for that result raises the potential for going off the road again.

“The sport is so cruel sometimes,” he said. “You know, you can end up in a little bit of a vicious circle. I’m trying my best. I’m trying to deliver results. I know what I want. I have my targets and the team has its targets.

“There’s nobody here at M-Sport that’s not giving the best and giving it everything we have.”

Breen admitted he felt he’d been unlucky in recent events.

“I want to be up there fighting, I don’t want to be at the back of the pace. Unfortunately, we do seem to be finding that banana peel every time. It seems to be in place where others are having moments or having drama, but they seem to be able to ride it OK and get away with it, whereas it seems to catch me up every time.

“That’s just the run of luck at the minute.”