We also wrote on Garage that thirty-three-year-old Craig Breen tragically crashed last Thursday as part of the tests before the Croatian rally. The accident happened around noon local time, passenger James Fulton fortunately escaped unhurt. At the same time, during his career Breen, a great sympathizer, had to deal with the death of his partner Gareth Roberts, who died in Sicily in 2012 while driving Craig.
“Hyundai Motorsport is deeply saddened to confirm that Craig Breen has lost his life in an accident during testing ahead of Rally Croatia. We send our sincere condolences to Craig’s family, friends and his many fans,” the Korean team said last week. “I can’t believe what I’m writing now. Life can be so fragile and unfair… I can’t believe we lost you! We were texting a while ago and now you can’t answer me anymore. I will miss you very much, my friend,” expressed the feelings of almost all pilots, Ott Tänak.
“After considering all the circumstances, we finally decided to participate in the Croatian Rally. It will be our tribute to Craig and his passion for the sport,” said Cyril Abiteboul, Hyundai Team Principal. Craig’s teammates Thierry Neuville and Esapekka Lappi will also carry special livery on their cars to honor the memory of the Irish competitor, whose starting number 42 will be retired by the FIA by the end of the season.
Irish competitor Craig Breen died during the tests before the Croatian rally. In his memory, the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid with a special livery will drive through the factory.
WRC program in Croatia
The ceremonial start will take place on Thursday in Zagreb, the first speedway is scheduled for the morning of Friday, April 21. There will be 20 special stages with a total length of over 301 kilometers until Sunday. The Croatian rally is characterized by a very variable asphalt surface, on which it is difficult to estimate the level of grip. The weather will definitely play a big role as well – the already challenging conditions can become even more complicated with sudden rain. To make matters worse, the special stages are often very fast and there are not a few broken sections either…
At the premiere of the Croatian Rally two years ago, Sébastien Ogier coped best with the demanding conditions (he enters this year as the leader of the standings – the legendary French competitor only completes selected events of the World Championship), then last year the later world champion Kalle Rovanperä took the victory. As in previous years, some three hundred thousand spectators should watch the fights of the best competitors around the tracks.
A lot of Czech flags will certainly appear around the special stages, while our natives will also be able to cheer on the Czech crews, Erik Cais will be ready at the start with the Fabia RS Rally2, and Filip Kohn will drive the Ford Fiesta Rally3.
