BREEN HOPING ITALIAN JOB WILL GET WRC BACK ON TRACK
Irishman enters Rallye Sanremo to get Croatia match practice – and chase win hat-trick
Craig Breen will go for a Rallye Sanremo triple this weekend – and get match fit for the Croatia Rally, where much is expected from the Irish ace, in the process.
The Italian championship round is heavy on undulating, narrow asphalt roads that are not too dissimilar to those found on Croatia’s World Rally counter, which is based in Zagreb from April 21-24.
After placing third on the
Monte Carlo Rally in January in an M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1, Breen was quickly in trouble on Rally Sweden the following month where a “very stupid mistake” ruled out a strong result after only one stage.
While a puncture at the start of day two in Croatia last April meant Breen was an also ran, his second fastest time on the powerstage pointed to what might have been.
Although Breen will use a Rally2-specification Ford Fiesta in Sanremo rather than his regular Puma in line with Italian championship rules, the event will still provide useful practice for round three of the WRC.
“It’s been a while since Rally Sweden and with Croatia coming, Sanremo presented a good opportunity to get back into competition mode again,” Breen said.
Rallye Sanremo marks Breen’s first appearance in a Fiesta
Rally2 and only his second outing alongside co-driver John Rowan, who is deputising for Breen’s usual wingman Paul Nagle.
“We’ll give it everything we can to make it three in a row,” Breen said. “It’s a rally that I’ve really enjoyed in the past. We’ve managed to win it the last two occasions and I couldn’t miss it again this year.”
Breen finished sixth on his Rallye Sanremo debut in 2012, dropped out with suspension failure in 2013 before returning and winning in 2019 driving a Skoda Fabia R5. He took his second victory, again with Nagle, in a Hyundai i20 R5. A third win for Breen would put him joint second on the all-time list of Sanremo winners.
All 11 stages, which total a competitive distance of 76.310 miles, run on Saturday. Andrea Crugnola is the top seed after winning round one of the season.