Craig Breen
Craig Breen | |
|---|---|
| Born | 2 February 1990 Ireland |
| Died | 13 April 2023 (aged 33) |
| Occupation | Rally driver |
| Years active | 2009–2023 |
| Known for | 2012 Super 2000 WRC champion, 2011 WRC Academy Cup winner |
Craig Breen (2 February 1990 – 13 April 2023) was an Irish rally competitor who most recently participated on a part-time basis with the Hyundai squad in the World Rally Championship (WRC). He claimed the 2012 Super 2000 WRC title, securing class victories at prominent events such as the Monte Carlo Rally, Wales Rally GB, Rally France, and Rally of Spain. In 2011, Breen captured the inaugural WRC Academy Cup, achieving his first victory at the 2011 Rallye Deutschland and clinching the championship by winning the 2011 Wales Rally GB. The championship was decided on a tiebreaker based on stage wins after he finished level on points with Estonian driver Egon Kaur. Additionally, in 2021, Breen triumphed at the Rentokil Historic Rally held in Killarney, Ireland, behind the wheel of a BMW M3 E30.
Tragically, Breen passed away on 13 April 2023 following an accident during pre-event testing prior to the 2023 Croatia Rally.
Career
Craig Breen, son of Irish rally champion Ray Breen, initiated his motorsport journey in karting back in 1999 before fully committing to rallying in 2009. That year, he secured victories in the Irish, British, and International Fiesta Sporting Trophies. His achievements earned him a twelve-month contract with M-Sport and the distinction of Billy Coleman Award recipient as Young Irish Rally Driver of the Year.
In 2010, Breen made his debut with the Ford Fiesta S2000 competing in both the British and Irish Tarmac Rally Championships. He claimed his first British Rally Championship win at the Ulster Rally and concluded second overall in the Irish Tarmac series. His participation extended to WRC events as well, where he finished 17th at Rally Finland and 12th at Wales Rally GB.
Breen entered the WRC Academy in 2011 driving a Ford Fiesta R2. During this campaign, he achieved his inaugural WRC event victory at Rallye Deutschland and ultimately secured the Academy Cup title.
Advancing to the Super 2000 World Rally Championship in 2012, Breen piloted a Ford Fiesta S2000. He won the season opener at Monte Carlo and took an early lead in the championship standings. That year was marked by tragedy when his co-driver Gareth Roberts lost his life during the Targa Florio Rally. Despite this setback, Breen went on to claim the Super 2000 world championship at Rally de Catalunya.
In 2013, Breen became lead driver for Peugeot’s ERC program, earning five podium finishes and ending the season third overall. Midway through that year, Paul Nagle was replaced by Lara Vanneste as co-driver. The following year, he celebrated his first ERC rally victory at the Acropolis Rally behind the wheel of a Peugeot 208 T16.
Together with co-driver Scott Martin, Breen won the Circuit of Ireland Rally in 2015, fulfilling a long-standing goal. In 2016, competing part-time for Citroën Total World Rally Team, he claimed his maiden Special Stage win and achieved his first WRC podium by finishing third at Rally Finland. He improved further by securing second place at the 2018 Rally Sweden.
Breen joined Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT for selected outings starting in 2019 and continued part-time through to 2021. During this period, he attained four WRC podiums, including three runner-up results.
In October 2021, Breen signed with M-Sport World Rally Team as their lead driver for his first full-time WRC campaign in 2022. Driving the Ford Puma Rally1, he earned two podium finishes: second place in Italy and third on his Monte Carlo debut. Prior to the 2022 Rally Catalunya, long-term co-driver Paul Nagle retired and was succeeded by James Fulton.
Returning to Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT for partial participation in the 2023 WRC season, Breen started strongly with a second-place finish at Rally Sweden but tragically lost his life during pre-event testing ahead of Rally Croatia.
Fatal Accident
On 13 April 2023, at the age of 33, Breen tragically lost his life following a crash involving his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 during a test run ahead of the 2023 Croatia Rally. The incident occurred at approximately 12:40 pm local time when the front left side of his vehicle struck a pole situated between Stari Golubovec and Lobor, resulting in fatal injuries. His co-driver, James Fulton, escaped without injury. Breen's funeral service took place on 18 April 2023 at The Sacred Heart Church in Ferrybank, with attendance from numerous figures within the WRC community, including Fulton, former co-driver Paul Nagle, as well as Hyundai teammates Thierry Neuville and Dani Sordo.
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile declared on 17 April 2023 that Breen's competition number 42 would be withdrawn for the duration of the 2023 season as a mark of respect.
World Rally Championship Performance
| Year | Team | Vehicle | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Craig Breen | Ford Fiesta ST | IRE | NOR | CYP | POR 25 |
ARG | ITA | GRE | POL | FIN 26 |
NC | 0 | |||||
| Ford Fiesta R2 | AUS | ESP 36 |
GBR 39 |
|||||||||||||||
| 2010 | Castrol Ford Team Türkiye | Ford Fiesta | SWE | MEX | JOR | TUR 22 |
NZL | POR | BUL | NC | 0 | |||||||
| Craig Breen | Ford Fiesta S2000 | FIN 19 |
GER | JPN | FRA | ESP | ||||||||||||
| Barwa Rally Team | GBR 12 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | Craig Breen | Ford Fiesta S2000 | SWE 15 |
MEX | POR | JOR | ITA | ARG | GRE | FIN | GER | AUS | FRA | NC | 0 | |||
| PS Engineering | ESP 15 |
GBR | ||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | Craig Breen | Ford Fiesta S2000 | MON 14 |
SWE 16 |
MEX | POR Ret |
ARG | GRE | NZL | FIN Ret |
GER | style="background:#CFCFFF;" :2012 Wales Rally GB # GBR 13 ||style="background:#CFCFFF;" # FRA ]] |
[[2012 Rally d'Italia # ITA ]] | style="background:#DFFFDF;" # ESP ]] 6 |
17th | 8 | ||
SWRC Results
| Year | Team | Vehicle | 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 | ||
WRC Academy Results
| Year | Competitor | 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 |
WRC-2 Results
| Year | Team | Model | 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 |
IRC results
| Year | Driver | Vehicle | 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 place | 24 | ||
| 2012 | Saintéloc Racing | Peugeot 207 S2000 | AZO | CAN | IRL 5 |
COR 6 |
ITA Ret |
YPR | SMR | ROM | ZLI | YAL | SLI | SAN 6 |
CYP | Finished 14th | 26 points |
ERC results
| Year | Team | Car model | Event 1 | Event 2 | Event 3 | Event 4 | Event 5 | Event 6 | Event 7 | Event 8 | Event 9 | Event 10 | Event 11 | Event 12 | Pos. | Points earned |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Sainteloc Peugeot Rally Academy | Peugeot 207 S2000 | JÄN | LIE 2nd |
CAN 2nd |
Third place | 145 | |||||||||
| Peugeot Rally Academy | AZO 2nd |
COR 4th |
YPR 3rd |
ROM | CZE | POL 7th |
CRO | SAN Retired |
VAL 3rd | |||||||
| 2014 | Peugeot Rally Academy | Peugeot 207 S2000 | JÄN | LIE 3rd |
Third overall | 104 points | ||||||||||
| Peugeot 208 T16 R5 | GRE Winner |
2014 Circuit of Ireland (IRE) Retired |
2014 Rally Azores (AZO) Retired |
2014 Ypres Rally (YPR) Retired |
2014 Rally Estonia (EST) | 2014 Barum Czech Rally Zlín (CZE) Retired |
2014 Cyprus Rally (CYP) Retired |
2014 Sibiu Rally Romania (ROM) | 2014 Rallye International du Valais (VAL) Second place |- | |||||||
| 2015 European Rally Championship |
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JÄN |
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LIE |
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IRE |
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AZO |
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YPR |
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EST |
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CZE |
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GRE |
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VAL |
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Runner-up |
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185 points | ||||
| 2016 European Rally Championship |
DGM Sport |
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8th place | 38 points | |||||||||||
| 2020 European Rally Championship |
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7th position | 49 points | ||||||||
| 2021 European Rally Championship |
Team MRF Tyres |
Hyundai i20 R5 |
style="background:#CFCFFF;" Rally Poland
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style="background:#dfdfdf;" Rally Liepāja
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style="background:#DFFFDF;" Rally di Roma Capitale
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Barum Czech |
Rallye Açores |
Rally Serras de Fafe e Felgueiras |
Rally Hungary |
Rally Islas Canarias |
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10th overall | 43 points | |||
| 2023 European Rally Championship |
Team Hyundai Portugal |
Hyundai i20 N Rally2 |
style="background:#DFFFDF;" Rally Serras de Fafe e Felgueiras
|
Rally Islas Canarias |
Rally Poland |
Rally Liepāja |
Royal Scandinavia |
Rally di Roma Capitale |
Barum Czech Zlín |
Rally Hungary |
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25th ranking | 20 points | |||
- Current season ongoing.
External links
- Pages with script errors
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1990 births
- 2023 deaths
- Citroën Racing drivers
- European Rally Championship drivers
- FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy drivers
- Hyundai Motorsport drivers
- Intercontinental Rally Challenge drivers
- Irish rally drivers
- M-Sport drivers
- Peugeot Sport drivers
- Racing drivers who died while racing
- Saintéloc Racing drivers
- Sport deaths in Croatia
- Motorsport people from County Waterford
- World Rally Championship drivers
- 21st-century Irish sportsmen