WRC colleagues remember Craig Breen: 'We've lost a great character'

Rally News

Craig Breen tragically lost his life last week – his old team boss Richard Millener and Northern Irish rally promoter Bobby Willis recall working with a unique rallying talent

2 Craig Breen Hyundai Rally GB 2019

Craig Breen was killed last week while testing in Croatia

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Author

James Elson

With a flash of his smile, an Irish glint in the eye, and the latest instantly quotable soundbite just delivered after finishing second in February’s Rally Sweden, Craig Breen sped off through the snowbanks – the last widely-shared images the public would see of him.

Weeks later, the Hyundai driver was tragically killed in a testing accident while preparing for this weekend’s Rally Croatia.

The outpouring of grief by fans, but also sharing of fond memories, has been commensurate with a driver who carried his supporters with him on his journey – the thousands of people that lined the streets of Waterford on Tuesday to bid Breen farewell bore testament to his status as rallying’s driver “of the people”.

That’s according to some of those who worked closely with Breen, with Circuit of Ireland promoter Bobby Willis telling Motor Sport it was his “passion for rallying by the bucketloads” that drew people to him.

Craig Breen Hyundai Rally GB 2019

Breen’s off-road commitment was never in doubt

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The Waterford native’s position as the rally fan behind the wheel only added to an undoubted speed and commitment, leading off-road enthusiasts to have, in the words of his former colleague and M-Sport team boss Rich Millener, “an affiliation to him, without even knowing him.”

Breen showed his popular touch with his final comments after that runner-up place in Sweden: “Don’t let anyone ever put you down because only you know your true potential. The people close to me know it and finally we managed to get it back out again.”

Just weeks later though, WRC competitors were posting tributes to a friend who was clearly loved throughout the paddock. “Life can be so fragile and unfair… I can’t believe we’ve lost you mate!” said Ott Tanak. “Just we’ve been texting and another moment you’re not answering anymore, I’ll miss you buddy so bad, so so bad…

Kris Meeke said Breen was “the guy who took time with my kids and made them laugh more than I could,” while Thierry Neuville remembered “You were the first to bring the English tea to Hyundai Motorsport, you made our debriefs last three hours or more, we had endless conversations about our private rally cars…”

His team, the WRC and Rally Croatia will pay tribute in a number of ways this weekend. Hyundai will run just two cars for Thierry Neuville and Esapekka Lappi, and both will be painted in a special Irish flag livery, while Breen’s car remains in the service park garage.

With the South Korean marque only having two cars eligible for constructors’ championship points, Toyota will only make two of its entrants eligible also, meaning Elfyn Evan’s car will be the one not scoring – M-Sport was only down to enter two Pumas.

All 56 competitors will run a black sticker in commemoration of Breen, and there will a moment of silence at 4:30pm local time today as well as during the podium ceremony on Sunday.

Breen and Millener’s rallying stories were intertwined from an early stage, with the latter’s development into an Irish sporting hero at odds with his down-to-earth demeanour.

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“I remember the very first rally he did in a Fiesta, which was around 2007,” he says.

“His Dad [Irish national rally champion Ray Breen] hired a car off M-sport for the Malcolm Wilson Rally. The was the very first time I met him – when he literally started his career.

“He then moved to the one-make Fiesta Sporting Trophy, which I was the co-ordinator for, and saw him and Gareth [Roberts, Breen’s late co-driver] experience all the highs and lows – I spent a lot of time with them.

“We were all just young and having fun, doing what we wanted to do. I don’t think anybody ever expected any of us to get to the level we all got to.”

While a superstar ability may not have been initially obvious, Millener says Breen’s continued commitment ultimately told its own story.

“You remember the person in general more than specific examples,” he says. “Without realising it, what started out as just a bit of fun blended into a professional career.

“He just ended up doing more and more rallies: the Fiesta Sport Trophy International, which was on WRC events, to Junior WRC, Super1000s and R5s.

“You don’t really recognise the talent early on, you just think ‘Let’s keeps progressing.’

5 Craig Breen Ford Rally Wales 2011

Competing at Rally Wales with late co-driver Gareth Roberts in 2011

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“But deep down there was obviously this massive desire to do well. When he got to the Citroën WRC team [in 2016], that’s when you sat back and realised he had the potential to get to the top.”

Breen had suffered the intense tragedy of losing his close friend and co-driver Gareth Roberts in a crash during mid-2012, but found the inner strength to keep going to secure the IRC title at the end of the season.

The next season he would align with Peugeot in the ERC, eventually leading to a chance at rallying’s top table with Citroën three year later, making his works debut at 2016 Rally Sweden and scoring a podium at Finland later that year.

Before that though, Breen won the 2015 Circuit of Ireland, fulfilling a life’s dream by emulating his hero and Irish rally icon Frank Meagher. It was on this event that he got to know promoter Bobby Willis.

“He just had that fantastic way of communicating, and communicating is the right word,” Willis says. “Possibly a lot of that was being Irish. The Irishness just poured out of him.

“When there was a crowd, like at Circuit of Ireland events when he was the star, other rally drivers often would just talk to the engineers, but he was always talking to the spectators – such a relaxed person.”

Willis remembers one anecdote in particular which summed up Breen’s passion for rallying combined with his down-to-earth nature.

“The Circuit of Ireland was and is still probably the best sporting brand in Ireland and he won it twice [in 2015 and 2016],” he says.

“The winner gets the Castlereagh Trophy, made from silver and very valuable – there’s famous pictures of Craig kissing it when he won in 2015 [below].

4 Craig Breen Peugeot Rally Islas Canarias 2013

Breen progressed with Stellantis brands Peugeot and Citroën

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“He went to down to Waterford after that first win. The day after he rang me and said, ‘Look, we’re having a party. Could I get that trophy for the celebration?’

“He didn’t send anybody up, he got it himself – four hours drive here and back, then brought it back again the week after. That was him.”

Willis has spearheaded Northern Ireland’s push to get a UK WRC round up and running again, and says Breen was a key supporter in making that happen.

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“I got to know him during the Circuit of Ireland, and his supportive nature of wanting these rallies to do well merged in with the friendly atmosphere of these events. He was always happy to help.

“I think it’s fairly well known how great my passion for having a WRC rally in Ireland is – that would have only been beaten by one person and that would be Craig.

“There is nobody else that would be anywhere near touching Craig in the Irish rallying scene. His support and keenness to make it work were the biggest things I remember about him – he would do anything.”

Back on the stages though, Breen went from strength to strength by scoring podiums for Citroën and then Hyundai.

That led to a big break in 2022 as the lead driver for M-Sport in its new Rally1 Puma – but the season ended up being a testing one for both Breen and the team, with just two podiums scored all season.

“Sometimes, unfortunately, the dreams don’t work out,” says Millener. “But he came back in Sweden [with Hyundai] and showed us what he’s capable of.

“I was looking through some messages last night that he sent me in 2022.

“Even through some of the tough times, there was still a bit of a laugh or positivity. He wore his heart on his sleeve, and was so upset that he wasn’t getting the results everyone deserved.

“As they said in the tributes, he just wanted to make people proud. We’ve all been robbed of seeing how he could have done, which is a real shame. But, in some ways, his last rally was one of his best.”

However, Millener emphasises that it’s Breen’s overall presence in the world championship that sticks in the mind.

“I think the hole has been left is something that none of us ever really appreciated until now,” he says.

“Craig was quick witted, funny, but also sympathetic and professional.

“We keep saying the WRC needs more characters, and now we’ve lost one of the best ones we had.

“There will be others, but when you lose someone who had so much more to go and potentially could have really helped build the sport, it’s hard to comprehend him not being around.

“They’re the type of memories and things that we as a sport need to work hard to preserve and build on.

“But let’s not be too negative – he spent his whole life doing exactly what he wanted to do, which is the nice thing you should remember.”

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