M-Sport Ford drivers Craig Breen and Pierre-Louis Loubet have offered their support to team-mate Adrien Fourmaux after his tough start to the season.

Fourmaux’s Rally Italia Sardegna retirement marked his fourth non-finish in five WRC rallies so far this season – with three of those DNFs being due to crashes.

The Frenchman had been driving within his limits and was on course for a top-five finish on the Mediterranean event before his hybrid-powered Puma left the road on the final stage of the penultimate day.

Breen and Loubet, on the other hand, enjoyed strong results, finishing second and fourth respectively.

“It’s difficult for me to comment, obviously,” Breen told WRC.com. “But of course I feel sorry for Adrien – I feel sorry for him and Alex (Coria, co-driver). It’s not a nice position to be in.

“I know from working that he is trying to do his best – he’s trying everything that he can. I’ve seen it myself when I’ve had some difficult times – social media lights up.

“People have no idea of the pressure that we are under. We’re trying to perform at this level and mistakes can happen so easily, especially on a rally like this. He will come back,” he added.

Loubet knows exactly what Fourmaux is going through. Between 2020 and 2021, he scored points on just two out of 11 rallies in a Hyundai i20 World Rally Car.

“I am very sorry for him,” he confirmed. “I know how hard he is working and I think it’s a difficult moment for him, but there is not much we can say.

“It’s a difficult situation and I hope he can get through this.”

Fourmaux will join Breen, Gus Greensmith and Sébastien Loeb at next week’s Safari Rally Kenya (23 – 26 June), where he’ll be hoping for a change in fortune.

WRC.