WRC Rally Croatia Preview: Hyundai to compete in honour of Craig Breen
19th April 2023The World Rally Championship heads back to Europe this week ahead of Rally Croatia for round four of the 2023 championship, following the death of Craig Breen.
Ogier returns for Croatia
The current championship leader and eight-time world champion, Sebastien Ogier will return to Toyota this weekend after securing yet another win in 2023 last time out in Mexico.
Despite a part-time season for the eight-time world champion, Ogier stands at the top of the WRC championship standings with 53 points to his name. These points come after two victories in two appearances for the Frenchman, in Monte-Carlo and Mexico.
Due to Ogier’s part-time 2023 programme, it does provide a narrow lead in the standings. The Toyota man only leads Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville by three points, and four points separate Ogier from his fellow teammate – and defending world champion – Kalle Rovanpera who sits third in the standings.
Ogier will race alongside teammates Elfyn Evans and Rovanpera as Takamoto Katsuta competes in a fourth Toyota Yaris.
Craig Breen
On April 13, 2023, the rallying world stood still after Hyundai broke the news of Craig Breen’s sudden passing. In a pre-event test, before the Croatia Rally, the beloved Irishman had an accident as he went off the asphalt road, and later died from his injuries.
Fortunately, Breen’s co-driver James Fulton was unhurt in the incident.
Breen was preparing to enter the event for the second round of his 2023 campaign when he had an accident, following a superb second-place finish in Sweden earlier in the year.
Many tributes flew in after the terrifying news from several categories such as F1, the WRC (and its lower tiers), Formula E and MotoGP.
Following Breen’s death, Hyundai Motorsport has announced they are to continue and participate in the upcoming rally weekend in Croatia to ’honour him, his passion for rallying and his competitive spirit.’
The team have even designed a new livery for their Rally1 cars ahead of the event, dressing their I20 N’s in Irish colours. It is, without a doubt, all of Hyundai’s competing drivers will have the grit between their teeth in a bid to secure the win in loving memory for Breen.
The shakedown for the Croatia Rally will begin on Thursday ahead of the three-day main event, starting on Friday.
That’s all for the article; WRC Rally Croatia Preview: Hyundai to compete in honour of Craig Breen.
Who will get up and running well in Croatia this weekend? Let us know in the comments!
Read more WRC here:
- Craig Breen dies in pre-event crash ahead of Rally Croatia
- Ogier takes control of Rally Mexico as Lappi crashes out on Saturday
- Rally Mexico: Lappi takes over as Ogier trails just behind
- Rally Mexico: Tanak dominates opening stages to take early lead
- Oliver Solberg secures WRC2 victory in Rally Sweden
- Rally Sweden: Tanak secures Ford’s first win in 2023
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.
Kamron Kent
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.
