Hyundai dress in Irish colours for WRC tribute to Craig Breen

Hyundai dress in Irish colours for WRC tribute to Craig Breen

19th April 2023 0 By Kamron Kent

Hyundai will sport a new livery in honour of their late driver, Craig Breen, branding the colours of Ireland’s flag as they compete in Rally Croatia this weekend.

After careful consideration, Hyundai has opted to compete in Croatia following the sudden death of its driver who died last week following an accident in a pre-event test.

Ahead of the rally, Hyundai has changed up its livery by sporting the colours of Ireland’s flag which Breen competed under. In a tribute to the Irishman the new livery, which consists of Ireland’s iconic trio of colours: green, white and orange, has been fitted to the team’s Hyundai i20 N Rally1 cars.

While Hyundai has opted to compete, they have done so that includes a reduced entry list as the South Korean marque will race with two cars this weekend, driven by Thierry Neuville and Esapekka Lappi, in respect to their late driver.

The 33-year-old WRC driver was laid to rest on Tuesday at the Sacred Heart Church in Ferrybank, in his home country of Ireland where a loving funeral service was held, and live-streamed for those who could not attend.

Hyundai Team Principle, Cyril Abiteboul, provided details of Breen’s accident for the first time since the incident. As reported by the WRC, Abiteboul said:

“Regarding the accident, we can say that Craig was participating in the pre-event test in Croatia.

“Road conditions were slippery and the car slid off the road at a relatively low speed and made contact with a wooden fence. A post from this fence intruded into the cabin through the driver’s side window.

“The stage was closed immediately and the on-stage medical team was rapidly on the scene.

“We must mention that James Fulton was unhurt in the crash and our hearts go out to him. We are doing everything we can to support James at this time.

“Craig was taken to hospital from the stage. As far as can be determined, Craig’s passing was instantaneous.”

There is set to be a moment of silence at the Rally Croatia opening ceremony during what would’ve been Breen’s slot and a tribute video will play out. Another moment of silence is expected to be undertaken at the podium ceremony on Sunday.

That’s all for the article; Hyundai dress in Irish colours for WRC tribute to Craig Breen.

What do you think of Hyundai’s tribute to Craig Breen? Let us know in the comments!

Read more WRC here:

Give us a follow on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up with the latest news from the world of Motorsport! You can also support us on Patreon!

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

CategoryNews Rallying WRC
TagsCraig Breen Hyundai Ireland Irish Rallying Tribute World Rally Championship WRC

About the author

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Leave a Reply