Breen won’t turn his back on Germany

Craig Breen has told WRC.com that he is determined to make the start of the upcoming ADAC Rallye Deutschland after retiring from Neste Oil Rally Finland with a back injury.

The Irishman had guided his private Ford Fiesta RS WRC to ninth place overall in Finland before a heavy landing over a jump in the Ruuhimaki stage brought his event to a painful end on the final day.

Breen was given the all clear to fly home to Ireland yesterday morning (Monday) after being checked over my medical staff in Jyvaskyla and will continue his recuperation at home before seeing a specialist early next week. Although he’s wearing a brace to support and protect his injured back, the 24-year-old already has an eye on the next WRC round in Germany (21-24 August) where he hopes to complete his two-round WR Car programme.

“Come hell or high water, I want to do Germany and be there,” Breen told WRC.com. “Providing there’s no risk of me paralysing myself, I’ll be there. I want to drive and I’ll do whatever I can to get there.”

Breen’s bid to reach the start line in Germany has been boosted by a significant reduction in the pain he was experiencing at the top of his back. He said: “We’re not sure what it is yet but the pain has gone down considerably since the bang happened. I’m hoping that’s a good thing.

“It looks like nothing broken. Something was there, but we just need to see a specialist here to see exactly what it is. The biggest indicator is pain and for the moment, touch wood, everything seems to be fine in that department.”

Breen was buoyed by his performance in Finland and was philosophical about the rally-ending injury he suffered.

“The rally was getting better and better,” he said. “I was getting closer to my peers with every stage time and I was really looking forward to the last day. It was going to be a good but these things can happen in rallying.”