Irish pilot Craig Breen dies during training for Rally of Croatia
The 33-year-old Irishman died after an accident during a training session with Hyundai for the upcoming Rally of Croatia next week.
Irish driver Craig Breen (Hyundai) died in an accident during the reconnaissance for the upcoming race of the World Rally Championship (WRC) in Croatia (April 20-23), his team announced in a statement.
According to Croatian authorities, the accident occurred near the city of Zlatar in the north of the country. "The car went off the road and hit a wooden post," the police said in a statement. There are no further details about what happened.
Breen, 33, who had already driven for Hyundai between 2019 and 2021, was participating in only a part of the World Championship races this season, sharing the wheel with Spanish driver Dani Sordo.
He had finished second in the Rally of Sweden, the second race of the season, in February. The Rally of Croatia was going to be his second race of the year. He did not participate in the opening race, the legendary Monte Carlo, nor in the Rally of Mexico, the third stop of the year, giving his spot to Sordo.
He was in sixth place in the World Championship standings before the Rally of Croatia, the fourth race of the season (13 races).
"With deep sadness Hyundai Motorsport confirms that driver Craig Breen lost his life today in an accident during reconnaissance for the Rally of Croatia," the South Korean team wrote in a brief statement.
"Co-driver James Fulton emerged unscathed from this accident that occurred just after noon," Hyundai said, which will not make "further comments at this time."
Breen did not win any races in the World Championship, but he achieved nine podium finishes between 2016 and 2023, with six second places and three third places.
The Irishman finished seventh in the World Championship in 2022 after two podiums, Monte Carlo (3rd) and Italy (2nd).
'Life can be so fragile'
Son of Irish former driver Ray Breen, Craig began his career in Ireland in karting, debuting in rallies in 2009, winning the Fiesta Sporting Trophy, which earned him the title of Irish Young Driver of the Year.
Born in Waterford in southeast Ireland, he reached the top category in 2016 with Citroën, achieving a podium in his first season in the elite, third place in the Rally of Finland.
"I can't believe what I'm writing. Life can be so fragile and unfair... I can't believe I lost my friend!" reacted 2019 world champion Ott Tänak (M-Ford Sport), a former teammate of Breen's at Hyundai, on Twitter.
"We texted each other and at one point you didn't respond anymore, I'm going to miss you my friend, a lot, a lot, a lot..." added the Estonian.
The last driver in the WRC (World Rally Car) to die behind the wheel of his car was Portugal's Augusto Mendes during the Rally of Portugal in 1989.
Since then, four co-pilots have died during races: Francis Malaussène from France in Monte Carlo (1990), Rodger Freeth from New Zealand in Australia (1993), Michael Park from Britain in Wales (2005), and Jörg Bastuck from Germany in Spain (2006). AFP
