BREEN: “IRISH RALLYING HAS GOT ME ON MY FEET AGAIN”
New Irish Tarmac champion pays tribute to series for helping him after Citroen axe
Newly crowned Irish Tarmac rally champion Craig Breen says “Irish rallying has got me back on my feet again” after Citroen decided not to renew his World Rally Championship contract for this season.
Without a top-line drive to begin the year, Breen has been competing in the Irish series and sealed the title with victory on last weekend’s Ulster Rally.
He admits the pressure was on to wrap up the title as the chances of him taking part in next month’s series-ending Cork 20 International is unlikely with the 29-yearold set to make a second appearance with Hyundai Motorsport in an i20 World
Rally Car for Wales Rally GB on the weekend of October 3-6.
“I am not so sure if we can go to Cork,” said Breen, who triumphed on the Ulster Rally by 20.5 seconds. “It’s nice to say that box [winning the Tarmac title] has been ticked – it is a really nice feeling considering what is coming ahead. It is great for me to have been a part of this.
“Irish rallying has got me back on my feet again [after losing the Citroen drive]. I really needed it and Irish rallying has given me more than it will ever truly understand.”
Breen switched to a Hyundai i20 R5 for the Northern Ireland Motor Club event and struggled in the early part with a steering problem that affected his confidence over bumps and jumps. However, it was not enough to stop him from sweeping to a fifth victory from six ITRC starts.
Despite appearing to walk away with the title, he insists ITRC regulars made him work hard for the trophy. “That just goes to show that the level [of driving] is extremely high,” he added.
His co-driver Paul Nagle was full of praise for a campaign that has also featured wins at San Remo in Italy and Ypres in Belgium, before Breen landed his Hyundai chance for Rally Finland: “Craig has been inch-perfect.”