Tricolour raised by victors as Craig Breen is honoured at poignant Croatia Rally

HYUNDAI MOTORSPORT DEDICATED their podium finish at the Croatia Rally to Craig Breen, their Irish driver who passed away during a pre-event testing accident earlier this month, aged 33.

Racing with the blessing of Breen’s family and his co-driver James Fulton, who was uninjured in the crash, Hyundai ran an Irish-tricolour livery in honour of the Waterford man.

The team later confirmed that Breen’s longtime friend and former team-mate, Northern Ireland’s Kris Meeke, has been invited to contest the remainder of the season for Hyundai, including the WRC’s Rally Portugal in May.

Hyundai’s Finnish duo of Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm earned a third-place finish in Croatia on Sunday, with Toyota’s Elfyn Evans taking top spot.

Fittingly, Evans’ co-driver is Scott Martin, who was previously Breen’s co-driver for five seasons and assisted him to two Circuit of Ireland victories as well as his first WRC podium in 2016.

Such poignancy was laid bare as Martin and Evans crossed the finish line to bridge a two-year gap between race victories, with both men going on to pay tribute to both Breen and his family.

“I was fortunate to share some really special years with Craig,” said co-driver Martin.

It seems quite fitting that we have delivered this result this weekend. For sure he was with us this weekend. I think he was with us all, maybe just supporting me more than the rest.

“I’m really particularly proud of the whole service park. Everyone has done really well to stick together and support each other, and we have to continue doing that because there’s going to be some difficult days still to come when the dust settles a bit from this weekend.”

“It’s difficult to know the right thing to say,” added victorious driver Evans. “It’s been a tough week for everybody, and I think the whole WRC family can be proud of the way it has come together to pay tribute to Craig. It’s a great showing of his character and how popular he was around the service park.

We went to see his family last week and it was also their wish that we made sure we enjoyed ourselves. We made them a promise that we would, and obviously we were able to do that. But, of course, now it’s all over, our thoughts turn back to them at this difficult time.

Podium celebrations were naturally muted, with the winning Toyota crew holding aloft a tricolour flag while Amhrán na bhFiann was played. The Irish anthem was followed by a moment’s silence.

Hyundai team principal Cyril Abiteboul said: “This has been a difficult event for all of the rally community and we must thank everyone far and wide for their help, assistance and understanding.

“Looking at the sporting element of this weekend, we had to dive into this wholeheartedly from the outset of the event; that’s the sport. This was the will of Craig’s family and what he would have wanted; this is very clear. All we have done this week has been for him and in his memory.

“It’s important that we put the sporting element to one side now,” Abiteboul continued. “The sequence of events that has happened since that tragic day last Thursday has been incredibly hard on the team. We had to put our emotions on pause but now is the period of reflection. It will all come back hard, and it is important that we all find the time to deal with this in our own individual way.”

A Hyundai team statement added: “With this podium, we honour Craig and dedicate the result to him, his co-driver James, his wonderful family, devoted friends, and loyal fans, all for whom this past week has been one of raw emotion, sadness, and loss, but also one full of love for a man who gave so much and leaves so much behind.

“A selection of Craig’s inspiring, heart-on-sleeve quotes adorned the team’s service area in Croatia, paying tribute to man whose legacy will live on in the rallying and motorsport community.”

One such quote attributed to Breen was, “Don’t let anyone ever put you down, because only you know your true potential.”

Kris Meeke, Breen’s close friend who will take the Waterford man’s seat in Portugal and for the rest of the season, said that his decision to do so “was not made lightly”, but added: “I knew he would tell me to accept and this is how I will honour him”.

Meanwhile, in the Junior WRC, two up-and-coming Irish stars paid their own fitting tributes to Breen, who also held a role as mentor for Motorsport Ireland.

Donegal’s Eamonn Kelly and his Monaghan co-driver Conor Mohan won the Junior event in Croatia, while Co. Down man William Creighton posted an unmatched 10 winning stage times throughout the event.

Written by Gavan Casey and posted on the42.ie