Last week the motorsport community was rocked by World Rally Championship driver Craig Breen’s tragic death during testing for Rally Croatia. The Hyundai driver went off the road during a team test and succumbed to his injuries, while his co-driver was unharmed in the crash.
Earlier this week, team principal Cyril Abiteboul delivered a statement confirming that a fence post intruded the side of Breen’s cockpit, and added: “Craig was laid to rest yesterday, and it’s been a very emotional time for all of us.
“Emotions are still raw, and there has been an amazing outpouring of grief for Craig, who was an incredible person to know as a team-mate, competitor and friend.”
It's been an incredibly sad few days for the rallying community. Craig had such an amazing passion for the sport he loved – as you can see here ❤️ https://t.co/jgblVmDAOe
— Petter Solberg (@Petter_Solberg) April 16, 2023
Drivers from all series came together to share their condolences with Craig’s family and friends, including Valtteri Bottas, Petter Solberg and Carlos Sainz.
After much deliberation between Breen’s family and Hyundai’s crew and team members, Hyundai decided to compete in Croatia this weekend with a reduced two-car lineup. They also announced that they would honour Breen by running a special livery on their entries for what is the fourth round of the WRC.
Abiteboul said: “We are contesting this rally primarily to honour Craig and his incredible life and talent. Craig was a proud Irishman and passionate representative of the Irish rally community, so the livery will represent the colours of the Irish flag in his memory.”
In addition to that, all crews entered this weekend will carry a black sticker in memory of Breen on the doors of the cars. The WRC and FIA also revealed this week that the series would retire Breen’s competition number #42 for the remainder of the season.
Our thoughts are with Craig’s family, friends and team.
