PUMA DEAL IS SECURED BREEN’S ON A HY’ WITH NEW TEAM
Backing will allow Craig challenge for World Championship title
WATERFORD’S
Craig Breen has signed a two-year deal to compete for M- Sport Ford in the World Rally Championship ( WRC).
Having announced that he “would be on the start ramp for Rally Monte Carlo” in January 2022, the 31-year- old put pen to paper with M- Sport MD Malcolm Wilson to pilot the new Hybrid Ford Puma.
It is a cause for double celebration for Irish motorsport as his Killarney co- driver Paul Nagle will be part of the crew that will lead Ford into the new Hybrid rally era, starting with the Monte Carlo Rally and traversing the world across 13 WRC events next year.
Real
We could also see the Irish pair in action on home soil in 2022 as there remains the real possibility that a round of the WRC could take place in Northern Ireland next year as a replacement for the Wales Rally GB.
It’s the first time that Breen has been handed a full WRC campaign following part-programmes with Hyundai and Citroën in recent seasons.
And he moves to M- Sport having three consecutive podium finishes in Estonia, Belgium and, last weekend, Finland in a Hyundai i20 World Rally Car.
Breen is sixth in the drivers’ standings despite tackling only half the 10 rounds run so far this season.
However, Hyundai couldn’t offer the fulltime drive he was seeking having re- signed the Estonian Ott Tanak and Belgium’s Thier r y Neuville.
The Korean manufacturer announced that Spain’s Dani Sordo and Finland’s Oliver Solberg will share third car duties for the team in 2022.
Breen sat behind the wheel of the new Puma on gravelintheUKafew weeks ago and will have a longer test on both gravel and asphalt in Spain later this month.
“It’s a lifelong dream and now it’s finally here,” a delighted Breen told the Irish Daily y Star.
“Its something that we’ve been n working on n the last t couple of f months.
“I’ve had d I ’ ve had partial seasons in the Championship for r the last t couple of years and d it’ it’s been nice and I’ve enjoyed it.
“But you don’t need to be a mathematician to figure out you can’t win a World Championship by not doing all the season.
“So yeah, we’ve been working on this, trying to make it happen for the last couple of months and I needed to make it happen.”
Breen will be driving the new Hybr id generation Ford Puma from the start of the 2022 season and his 2021 WRC campaign has now fully come to an end with Hyundai.
“There is a new set of regulations for next year so it’s going to be changing quite a lot,” he added.
Normal
“It’s a normal standard petrol engine in the car but with a battery pack and a motor that will work in tandem with the combustion engine and will give over 100 BPH extra at different times.
“Every time y ou break, you regenerate energy. As well as that, i in the serv vice park, t the car will run on pu re ele ctric power.
“It’s a start of the sport moving to a greener phase.”
M- Sport have been overtaken in the last few seasons by both Toyota and Hyundai and have run customer engines in their Ford Fiesta.
However, with the move to the Hybrid Ford Puma and the new regulations, Breen will have a shot at winning the World
DREAM TEAM: Breen and Nagle
Championship.
“It’s been part of the deal that’s been brokered in the last couple of months,” he added.
“There’s going to get quite a lot more from Ford in terms of performance and it’s going to be a much bigger effort that’s been put.
“So fortunately, we’re going to be heading into much better times and it’s really exciting.
“And obviously we are very keen on being involved in this new Hybrid era for the sport.
“The car is good. It definitely has potential and it’s going to be an exciting two years.”
Breen and Nagle move to M- Sport having stood on the last three podiums in their car- share deal with Hyundai and he says he enjoyed the time with the Korean outfit, who gave the Irishman a seat after Citroen pulled out of the WRC three years ago.
Enjoyed
“The time with Hyundai was great, really enjoyed it and worked with a great bunch of people,” he said.
“I’ve definitely learned a lot and am very proud of the success that we managed to bring in helping to win the manufacturers’ title.
“Would I have liked to have stayed?
“I’m very anxious to see what’s in store with Ford.
“I really think they’ve got a dedicated team, dedicated personnel, and the motivation is definitely there.
“We want to be champions and it means that I have to dedicate absolutely everything in every part of my life to try and make that happen.
“It’s a very, very crucial part of my career and in my life.”
Breen also said that he would be more than happy if an Irish WRC round could happen next year for the first time since 2009.
“I know that Bobby Willis has been working for the last couple of years to try and make this happen,” he added.
“Obviously, it’d be great and something that we all desperately want happen so, yeah, fingers crossed.”
‘It’s a lifelong dream and it’s finally here’