A new step in the progression of Craig Breen

Aligned on his third rally of the season after Sweden and Poland, Craig Breen did not miss the opportunity to shine on the roads of the legendary Rally Finland. In the wake of his teammate Kris Meeke, superb winner of the event, the Irishman took advantage of the competitiveness of his DS3 WRC on the Nordic slopes to achieve his first podium in the discipline.

A result which was not, however, the easiest to achieve for the former driver of the Peugeot Rally Academy, which initially resisted Ott Tänak, finalement parti à la faute ce matin, puis à la Hyundai de Thierry Neuville, threatening until the Power Stage.

« It's the best day of my career again, Breen breath. But it seems that every day it gets a little better with this car! By climbing to third place yesterday afternoon, I already had the feeling of having climbed another level.

There weren't many kilometers to do today, but it was still challenging because I had pressure from my opponents. This first scratch and the final podium make me even happier.

The finish was very emotional, I couldn't believe it but it was fantastic to celebrate this moment with those who support me. It's also a great reward for the team, who had some work to do to repair the car after my outing in testing on Monday. This weekend I took another step in the direction I want to go. »

Craig Breen, on the other hand, recalls that this first major result is only a stage in his career, he who does not yet have a definitive program for 2017. « Of course, the next goal after a podium is a victory, adds the Irishman at a press conference. How realistic is this? I don't know. Of course, here we had a bit of an advantage on the first days with our position on the road which we used wisely, but even on the second pass on some stages we still showed good speed. So, I have to use this confidence on the next rallies and see what we can do. »

Yves Matton, boss of Citroën Racing, also returned to a press conference on the future of Breen. “We will have to think about this (the possibility of seeing Breen with Citroën). He showed me over three rallies that his potential is very high. But he still has a few more rallies to do this year and if we start thinking about the drivers for next year, I think that remains between me and our drivers. »

Find the full report and analysis of the Rally Finland, produced by our special correspondent, in issue 2074 of AUTOhebdo, available tomorrow evening in digital version, and from this Wednesday on newsstands.