Craig Breen's chances of driving a Hyundai World Rally Car on the season-closing Rally Australia are dependent on Dani Sordo's performance at Rally Spain later this month.
Sordo, who missed Rally GB, is currently 10th in the driver's standings – but only 22 points off fourth place. A strong outing at home from Sordo would likely rule Breen in for Australia because Hyundai team boss Andrea Adamo will want a driver sitting as far down the championship standings as possible.
The aim would be for Hyundai to benefit from the cleanest and quickest possible conditions coming from a day-one start position at the rear of the leading group. Adamo said he would not make any decisions about his team heading to Australia until after the penultimate round in Spain.
"Australia is a place where road cleaning is very important,” said Adamo. “Let me see where Dani is after Catalunya. You can be the fastest man in the world, but if you clean the road for the others then you are finished. I want to see the standings, and then I will decide."
Breen willingly dropped down the order to benefit his team-mates, finishing seventh on his only WRC start this season – Rally Finland – and is currently six places below Sordo. Finland was Breen's first start with Hyundai, but his performance there was favourable.
"I'd do anything to go to Australia,” said Breen. “I'd love to go back there to right all the wrongs of last year. I left with some horrible memories, so I really want to go back and do a good job for Hyundai. But it's down to whatever cards are best to play before the rally.
"Andrea is playing a fantastic game, he's doing absolutely everything in his power to win the championship and I have to make myself the, I guess, the third-strongest card to play in Australia. It's up to us in GB, and what Dani does on the rallies – Catalunya – towards the end of the year. It's out of my control. All I can do is do my best on GB."
