Citroen impressed despite breen’s woe
Despite a frustrating weekend for Irishman Craig Breen, Citroen team principal Pierre Budar was full of praise for his seventh place finish.
Breen’s event was ruined by a puncture on the seventh stage. Having been just 4.4s away from the lead following a fastest time on SS6, he was more than two minutes back after the deflation.
“It was the same story for Kris and Craig,” Budar told MN. “Both of them lost their chance in this rally because of the punctures.”
That time loss left Breen at the front of the field and opening the road for the remainder of the event.
“On Friday Craig was really in the fight,” said Budar. “He was up to third and he was right there. I have no doubt about his capacity to go fast, but from Saturday morning there was really nothing he could do. He couldn’t show anything when he was in these conditions.
“Instead, he learned from these conditions – he learned about setting the car up for more traction and making sure the car was working well on the surface. Now we move forward and look to the next event. It was tough, an event he couldn’t show anything – but I’m pleased with what I saw.”
Breen admitted he was hugely frustrated.
He said: “When we were in third on Friday, we could have been leading on Friday night and then you’re in a good place on the road and who knows after that… It’s been a tough one. It seems whenever there are some sh*t conditions first on the road, they’re going to come our way. Still, it wasn’t as bad as the Monte: my heart wasn’t in my mouth all the time like it was then!”