Irish World Series rally driver Craig Breen died on Thursday, April 13 in Croatia during Hyundai’s tests. The team prepared for the World Rally Championship in Croatia, which is scheduled to be held on the 20th-23rd. April.
According to media reports, 33-year-old Breen’s car veered off the road in a bend to the right and crashed into a wooden fence with the left front corner ahead. The accident happened at 12:40 local time. The place of the accident is the municipality of Lobor in northern Croatia.
Breen’s carter James Fulton was not injured.
According to the eyewitness, a nearby ambulance arrived immediately. However, it was too late.
– He couldn’t be saved, it was clear to everyone from the beginning, a local resident said Jutarnji magazine (you switch to another service) by.
A photo of the crash site has spread on social media. It is about an image that has also been used by the Croatian media.
At the press conference, information was given about the investigations
According to Jutarnj (you switch to another service) the accident happened on a section where the top speed can be 150 kilometers per hour. The asphalt surface of the road is smooth. The weather was rainy.
Croatian media 24sata published a video from the crash site on Friday. The wooden fence that Breen ran into is broken. There are brake marks on the road. There are a few candles. The video is available from this link (you will go to another service) On Youtube.
– I can only say that our sport is wonderful, but also dangerous, and such tragic events rarely happen. According to official information, nothing like this has happened in the WRC races since 1986. We are very sorry that this happened here. We express our condolences to Breen’s family and his fans, stated the chairman of the Croatian World Rally Organizing Committee Danijel Saskin at the press conference.
President of the Croatian Automobile and Karting Association Davorin Stetner said that the federation is responsible for motorsport events on Croatian territory. Breen’s accident is now being investigated by the local police, the International Automobile Federation (FIA), the Croatian Automobile Association and the organizers of the World Rally Championship. Breen’s body was transported to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, for an autopsy.
– We are all trying to find out what happened, but our professional investigations are going in the direction of preventing such things in the future, so that there are as few life-threatening accidents as possible in our competitions and related events, commented Stetner.
The motorsport world was shocked by the death of a passionate driver
Born in 1990, Breen’s car racing career began in karting. He switched to rallying in 2007. In the World Rally Championship, Breen scored his first points in the last race of the 2012 season in Catalonia, when he was sixth in the final results in a Ford Fiesta.
Breen drove Hyundai from 2019 to 2021. Last season, he drove the first full World Cup calendar of his career with M-Sport’s Ford, finishing sixth in the World Series overall points. For this season, he returned to Hyundai.
In the second World Rally Championship this season, in Sweden, Breen was second. It was his best investment. Breen was also second in the World Rally Championship in Sweden 2018, Estonia 2020 and 2021, Belgium 2021 and Sardinia 2022.
In addition to his driving skills, Breen was considered an exceptional driver primarily because of his character. Bree was a well-liked driver who showed his passion and cheerful nature.
Read more: Commentary: The extraordinary Craig Breen loved rallying, despite knowing all about its fragility
Among other things, the car sports media Autosport shared a video on Twitter in which Breen showed his emotions after he had set a record low time in the Swedish Rally in February.
– Breen’s talent behind the wheel was matched only by his friendly and generous nature outside the car. Despite his success in the WRC series, Breen never forgot his roots and remained firmly connected to his native Ireland. He often competed in local rallies and gave financial support to several young drivers in his home country, On the World Series website (you will switch to another service) will be written.
Toyota team manager Jari-Matti Latvala wrote on Instagram that Craig shared the same passion with him and loved old rally cars.
– We never talked about new cars with him, but we shared our memories of the 1990s rally. They gave us both a lot of smiles, energy and increased our love for this sport.
According to Latvala, Breen did what he wanted most in life, that is to drive a rally car. The passion is told by the videos Latvala saw of young Breen playing rally driver.
– Life feels so unfair after Craig’s passing. This is very hard to accept, but we cannot decide the length of our days on earth.
Hyundai’s other drivers this season are Esapekka Lappi, Dani Sordo and Thierry Neuville.
For team mates, the situation is shocking. Spanish Sordo recently shared his shock on Instagram.
– I can’t believe the call I received a few hours ago. They said you left us for good. I’m in Germany fixing your Croatian car. This can’t be possible!
A rare occurrence
Even in the 1980s, fatal rally accidents occurred even in the main class almost every year. The most recent deaths that occurred during World Cup rallies are from 2005 and 2006.
A German Citroën driver who drove in the junior class in 2006 Jörg Bastuck died at the age of 36 in the Catalunya Rally when he had stopped to change a tire and was hit by another driver. In the year 2005 Markko Märtinin map reader Michael Park died in a crash in the Welsh Rally.
Breen lost his cart by Gareth Roberts in the 2012 Sicilian IRC rally crash. In the UI section, a metal railing penetrated the car from the side of kart driver Roberts.
Sports expert Henri Haapamäki said Breen likely died in a very similar accident to Roberts.
– There have been some pretty wild outings in the World Rally Championship over the years. Nothing worse has happened in a long time. Now the worst has happened. Quite a small exit, but some kind of railing or tree has penetrated the side window into the car. It has all the step marks hit in the worst possible place, commented Haapamäki.
Read more: Craig Breen, who died on Thursday, lost his map reader in an almost similar accident – ‘s expert: “Glasses cannot be solid iron”
Similar are the sports managers responsible for the rally of the Finnish motor sports association AKK Henrik Frankin estimates. It is not known whether the blow to Breen came from the side window or the front window.
According to Frank, neither the team nor the World Rally Championship may ever provide more detailed information about the details of the accident. Even in Finland, in a similar situation, the investigation responsibility would be transferred to the police, who would inform about the matter as they see fit.
– A Rally1 car, or actually all cars according to FIA rules, are extremely safe. In the Rally1 car, it has been taken to the furthest point and a lot of focus has been put on, for example, the durability of side collisions. Everything possible has certainly been done. The only risk is that something gets inside. The people sitting in the cars in question have also mentioned this, that they feel it is the only risk, says Frank.
According to Frank, the cars are as safe as they can be for this purpose. He reminds that everyone in motorsport is aware of the existence of risks.
– Of course, people’s knowledge and skills are developing. We always come up with something new. What will the rally car be like ten years from now, surely things have been done differently.