About
Craig Breen, an Irish rally driver who was based in Andorra, was 32 years old at the time of his death on April 13, 2023.
Craig’s career started off like so many in motorsport, in karting from a young age. Success quickly followed with 3 Irish Karting Championships, followed by immense success in European and World Karting.
In 2009, the decision was made to pursue rallying. Although Craig was incredibly quick as a circuit racing driver, his heart and passion still lay with rallying, like his father. It was an amazing first year with 3 championship victories! In 2010, Craig took a big step into a more competitive car and won the prestigious Pirelli Star Driver Global Shootout.
This was followed by a standout year in the Junior World Rally Championship, where he won the championship.
After winning the Junior World Rally Championship in 2011, Craig followed this up with a stunning S2000 World Rally Championship in 2012, making him back-to-back World Champions.
In 2013, Craig was employed by Peugeot Sport to compete in the European Championship. He stayed on as an official driver until the end of 2015.
Craig’s next big break came in 2016 when he was contracted to the Citroen Abu Dhabi World Rally Team for a partial season. He competed in only 3 events but managed to take a podium in Finland that year. Success continued with Citroen until he joined Hyundai in 2019 for selected rounds of the World Rally Championship. He fought at the front of many WRC events but often had to play the team game to gain manufacturer championship points.
For 2022, Craig joined the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team as their lead driver.
In 2023, Craig rejoined Hyundai for 7 rallies during the year, sharing the seat with Dani Sordo in the World Rally Championship, before his untimely death on April 13, 2023. His contributions to the sport and his remarkable achievements will be remembered by fans and fellow competitors alike.
