Millener refuses to dwell on Breen's latest WRC hiccup

The Irishman and his new co-driver - James Fulton - started the Friday leg in second, just a tenth of a second behind early leader and eight-time world champion, Sebastien Ogier.

However, by the end of the first test they dropped back three places to fifth after losing the best part of five seconds trying to squeeze past a slow-moving Ogier after the Toyota man picked up a puncture.

Just minutes after both drivers had successfully posted a time, the stage was cancelled on safety grounds after a suspected petrol leak caused the Hyundai I20 N Rally1 car belonging to Dani Sordo to catch fire, with the disruption forcing organisers to abandon the next stage.

When the action resumed on SS4 – ‘Shitara Town R1’ – Breen’s involvement lasted all of 5-miles; mid-way through it he understeered off the road at a right hander and crashed through an armco barrier, with the damage sending him into immediate retirement.

It is the latest in a long list of setbacks for Breen who has only managed to collect a total of 19 points across the six rounds that have taken place since the turn of the summer.

His best performances came at Rallye Monte Carlo where he finished third and at Rally Italia Sardegna where he equalled his best-ever result in the World Rally Championship by coming home in second.

“It is frustrating, obviously, as it is another unforced mistake but we cannot dwell on it and be hard on Craig,” said Millener. “We are all aware of the pressure he has around him without making things any more difficult.”

Asked if the priority for Breen and Fulton is to use what remains of the Tarmac event to get to know one another more inside the car, he replied: “Yes, pretty much.”

Thanks to the efforts of his mechanics, Millener has confirmed that Breen will re-join the action at the final round of the World Rally Championship when it resumes at 11.08pm UK time tonight.

Toyota’s Elfyn Evans provisionally leads Rally Japan by three seconds from Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville as the Welshman aims to record his first victory of the 2022 campaign. Evans’ team-mate Kalle Rovanpera is currently an additional two seconds off the pace in third