Will Craig Breen be there in Estonia?

Craig Breen is the first to be surprised by the situation. He himself cannot explain why he is so comfortable in fast races like Estonia, Finland or Sweden. A native of Waterford, 170 km southwest of Dublin, he started racing in his region in 2007. First running mainly on tarmac, he experienced his first thrills on narrow and winding roads... everything that the events where he has so far obtained his best results in WRC. This season, Breen will start his 7^e rally from Estonia. Alone Ott Tänak has more participations. Craig stays on two 2^es places in 2020 and 2021 when he was “water carrier” at Hyundai. Recruited by M-Sport to be the team's No. 1, the Irishman had warned that his start to the championship would be complicated. Having to rediscover the appointments one after the other following several years with incomplete programs, the 32-year-old pilot can no longer procrastinate. In Estonia, in Finland and then in Ypres he must don the leadership costume assigned to him by Malcolm Wilson. At the end of Kenya, an eloquent smile crossed his face at the mention of this series. “ Portugal, Sardinia and Kenya were frustrating at times, he explained to Naivasha. I often had everything to learn and didn't want to jeopardize that opportunity. We are finally going to tackle areas that I master better. » The one who has already obtained 2 podiums with the Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1 in 2022 (Monte-Carlo and Sardinia), will he be able to rely on his knowledge of the Tartu region to open his world record? Knowing that he is among the favorites, how will the one who has the reputation of being fragile manage to manage this wait? The first answers will come from Thursday evening (SS1 at 19:38 p.m.) before the 23 other special stages scheduled until Sunday.

Photo Nikos Katikis / DPPI