.jpg) Breen at the2018 Rally Sweden | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  Irish |
| Born | (1990-02-02)2 February 1990 Ferrybank Kilkenny, Ireland |
| Died | 13 April 2023(2023-04-13) (aged 33) Lobor, Croatia |
| World Rally Championship record | |
| Active years | 2009–2012,2014–2023 |
| Co-driver |  Gareth RobertsPaul NagleScott MartinJames Fulton |
| Teams | Peugeot Sport,Citroën,Hyundai,M-Sport Ford World Rally Team |
| Rallies | 82 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Rally wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 9 |
| Stage wins | 35 |
| Total points | 405 |
| First rally | 2009 Rally de Portugal |
| Last rally | 2023 Rally Sweden |
Craig Breen (2 February 1990 – 13 April 2023) was an Irishrally driver who last competed part time for theHyundai team in theWorld Rally Championship (WRC). He won the 2012Super 2000 WRC, scoring class wins in theMonte Carlo Rally,Wales Rally GB,Rally France and theRally of Spain. Breen won theWRC Academy Cup in 2011, winning his first event at the2011 Rallye Deutschland and sealing the championship with a win atWales Rally GB. The Academy title going down to the last stage, with Breen and Estonian rally driverEgon Kaur ending the season, both on 111 points, Breen then won the title on count back of stage wins, 39 to 14. Breen won the 2021 Rentokil Historic Rally in Killarney, Kerry, Ireland in his BMW M3 E30.
Breen died on 13 April 2023 after a collision with a post which punctured the cabin of the Hyundai i20 he was driving during a pre-event test ahead of the2023 Croatia Rally.
Craig was the son of Ray Breen, a national champion in Irish rallying. He begankarting in 1999 in Ireland. He began rallying in 2007, combining it with karting commitments in Europe in 2008.[1]
In 2009, Breen made the full-time switch to rallying, competing in the Irish, British and International Fiesta Sporting Trophies, winning all three championships.[2] He also went on to win the Fiesta Sport Trophy International Shootout and was awarded a twelve month contract withM-Sport. For his achievements Breen was crowned Young Irish Rally Driver of the Year and received the Billy Coleman Award.[3]
In 2010, Breen debuted theFord Fiesta S2000 in bothBritish Rally Championship and theIrish Tarmac Rally Championship. He took his first BRC victory on the2010 Ulster Rally and went on to finish 2nd overall in the ITC. He also finished 17th overall in the car at the2010 Rally Finland and 12th overall atWales Rally GB.[4]
In 2011, Breen competed in theWRC Academy driving aFord Fiesta R2. He won his first WRC event at the Rallye Deutschland[5] and his win at Wales Rally GB made him the inaugural WRC Academy Cup champion.[6]
For 2012, Breen progressed to theS-WRC championship driving a Ford Fiesta S2000. He won the opening round atMonte Carlo and led the championship after the second round inSweden.[7]
In June 2012, Breen's co-driverGareth Roberts was killed in an accident during theTarga Florio Rally, the fifth round of the2012 Intercontinental Rally Challenge.[8][9]
In Rally de Catalunya, in November, Breen won the Super 2000 world championship. At the end of the rally, a very emotional Breen declared "I'm a kid, I can't believe I've done this."[10]
In 2013, Breen andco-driverPaul Nagle were signed byPeugeot to lead their ERC campaign called 'Peugeot Rally Academy'. Breen was successful, achieving five podium places during the season, and eventually finishing 3rd overall, missing out on the runner-up spot by only four points. Midway during the season Nagle left the team to help outVolkswagen'sAndreas Mikkelsen in theWRC; from theRajd Polski onwards,Belgian Lara Vanneste became Breen's co-driver.[2]
Breen won his first ERC rally at the 2014 Acropolis Rally in Greece, driving aPeugeot 208 T16.[2]
Breen and co-driverScott Martin won the 2015 Circuit of Ireland Rally which had been a long-time ambition of Craig's especially as this would be the 20th anniversary of his Rally Idol's Tarmac Championship win, that being Frank Meagher.[11]
Breen did a part-time campaign with theCitroën Total World Rally Team in2016, achieving his maidenSpecial Stage win and an emotional first podium finish with third place at the2016 Rally Finland.[12] He improved the result in2018 by finishing second at the2018 Rally Sweden.[13]
Breen joinedHyundai Shell Mobis WRT for two events in the 2019 WRC campaign,[14][15] remaining with the team on a part-time campaign through to the end of the2021 WRC season.[16][17] In this period, he accomplished four podium finishes, including three second places.
In October 2021, it was announced that Breen would joinM-Sport World Rally Team as their lead driver for the 2022 season. He joinedAdrien Fourmaux andGus Greensmith in competing at all 13 rounds, making it his first full-time WRC campaign.[18]
Breen achieved two podium finishes with theFord Puma Rally1, with a second place inItaly and a third place on debut inMonte Carlo. Before the2022 Rally Catalunya,James Fulton became Breen's new co-driver after his long-time co-driverPaul Nagle announced his retirement.[19]
Breen moved fromM-Sport back toHyundai Shell Mobis WRT for the2023 World Rally Championship, again as a part-time driver for the Korean team.[20] He started his campaign inSweden with a second place finish which saw him leading the rally for a considerable part of the event.[21] Unfortunately, Breen was killed in a crash during a test beforeRally Croatia.[22]
Breen died on 13 April 2023, aged 33, after a crash driving hisHyundai i20 N Rally1 rally car in a testing session for the2023 Croatia Rally. The front left of his car collided with a pole on a road between Stari Golubovec andLobor at 12:40 pm local time,fatally injuring him. Breen's co-driverJames Fulton was uninjured.[23] Breen's funeral took place on 18 April 2023 at The Sacred Heart Church inFerrybank.[24] Several WRC associates attended the funeral, including Fulton, Breen's former co-driver,Paul Nagle and Breen's teammates at Hyundai,Thierry Neuville andDani Sordo.[25][26]
On 17 April 2023, theFédération Internationale de l'Automobile announced Breen'scar number 42 would be retired from the rest ofthe 2023 season.[27]
| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Barwa Rally Team | Ford Fiesta S2000 | SWE | MEX | JOR | NZL | POR | FIN | GER | JPN | FRA | GBR 2 | 12th | 18 |
| 2011 | PS Engineering | Ford Fiesta S2000 | MEX | JOR | ITA | GRE | FIN | GER | FRA | ESP 4 | 10th | 12 | ||
| 2012 | Craig Breen | Ford Fiesta S2000 | MON 1 | SWE 2 | POR Ret | NZL | FIN Ret | GBR 1 | FRA 1 | ESP 1 | 1st | 118 | ||
| Source:[4] | ||||||||||||||
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Craig Breen | POR Ret | ITA 8 | FIN 2 | GER 1 | FRA Ret | GBR 1 | 1st | 111 |
| Source:[4] | |||||||||
| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Saintéloc Junior Team | Peugeot 208 T16 R5 | MON 2 | SWE | MEX | POR Ret | ARG | ITA | POL | FIN Ret | GER 5 | AUS | FRA 4 | ESP Ret | GBR 3 | 9th | 55 |
| Source:[4] | |||||||||||||||||
| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Craig Breen | Ford Fiesta S2000 | MON | CAN | COR | YAL | YPR | AZO | ZLI 7 | MEC | SAN | SCO 4 | CYP | 12th | 24 | ||
| 2012 | Saintéloc Racing | Peugeot 207 S2000 | AZO | CAN | IRL 5 | COR 6 | ITA Ret | YPR | SMR | ROM | ZLI | YAL | SLI | SAN 6 | CYP | 14th | 26 |
| Source:[4] | |||||||||||||||||
| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Sainteloc Peugeot Rally Academy | Peugeot 207 S2000 | JÄN | LIE 2 | CAN 2 | 3rd | 145 | |||||||||
| Peugeot Rally Academy | AZO 2 | COR 4 | YPR 3 | ROM | CZE | POL 7 | CRO | SAN Ret | VAL 3 | |||||||
| 2014 | Peugeot Rally Academy | Peugeot 207 S2000 | JÄN | LIE 3 | 3rd | 104 | ||||||||||
| Peugeot 208 T16 R5 | GRE 1 | IRE Ret | AZO Ret | YPR Ret | EST | CZE Ret | CYP Ret | ROM | VAL 2 | COR Ret | ||||||
| 2015 | Peugeot Rally Academy | Peugeot 208 T16 R5 | JÄN Ret | LIE 1 | IRE 1 | AZO 1 | YPR Ret | EST Ret | CZE 7 | CYP | GRE 2 | VAL 2 | 2nd | 185 | ||
| 2016 | DGM Sport | Citroën DS3 R5 | CAN | IRE 1 | GRE | AZO | YPR | EST | POL | ZLI | LIE | CYP | 8th | 38 | ||
| 2020 | Team MRF Tyres | Hyundai i20 R5 | ITA 4 | LAT 4 | PRT 16 | HUN Ret | ESP 11 | 7th | 49 | |||||||
| 2021 | Team MRF Tyres | Hyundai i20 R5 | POL 42 | LAT 2 | ITA 9 | CZE | PRT1 | PRT2 | HUN | ESP | 10th | 43 | ||||
| 2023 | Team Hyundai Portugal | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | PRT 6 | ESP | POL | LAT | SWE | ITA | CZE | HUN | 25th | 20 | ||||
| Source:[4] | ||||||||||||||||
