“Obviously it is an incredible feeling,” Breen tells Autosport at the finish. Clearly there is no substitute for confidence behind the wheel to halt a downward spiral and restore one’s mental state. The usual smiling face and witty stage end interviews that had largely disappeared in 2022 were back but, more importantly, so was the consistent speed that convinced M-Sport to sign him to lead the Ford squad last year. However, there was a clear and visible difference in Breen’s body language throughout the weekend. Breen eventually finished 18.7s adrift in second to equal his career best WRC result, following Hyundai’s failed bid to deploy team orders to drop Breen to third. It pushed the 33-year-old into the rally lead which he held from Friday afternoon through to Saturday evening, before a loss of hybrid and a small brush with a snowbank ultimately cost him the advantage to Tanak. It is this rediscovered love behind the wheel, boosted by confidence in the hybrid i20 N, that helped yield four stage wins. That is not the most ideal of circumstances, so I just want to enjoy this.”Įnjoyment has emerged as a vital part in Breen’s Sweden bounce-back. It took me until December time when I got back in a historic car to put a smile back on my face last year. “I don’t care where I finish as long as I have a smile on my face. “The most important thing for me is to try and enjoy the car and get back into the groove again as last year was incredibly difficult,” Breen tells Autosport. We have all the capabilities to be at the front” Craig Breen It means everything really, it has given me all the confidence again to keep pushing forward. “ just leaves me hungry for the future now. But speaking ahead of Rally Sweden, it was clear the effect 2022 had on Breen as he searched to rediscover his happy place on his WRC return. “I wear my heart on my sleeve and then you have these gobs***** behind the computer that think they know better, but at the end of the day they have no idea.”įast forward to 2023 and the two drivers appear to have banished the demons that halted progress 12 months ago. “You have no idea of the darkness that went on last year and fortunately I ride the crest of the waves when things are good, but I unfortunately ride the down parts too,” he says when reflecting on 2022. ![]() Ultimately his troubled year ended with a mutual exit from his M-Sport contract a year early and a return to Hyundai on a part-time basis for 2023. At the time it elicited an emotional plea: “I know I shouldn’t be doing all these mistakes, but it’s f****** tough”, highlighting the dark mental place the year had taken him. Breen had led the rally and was sitting only 2.6s adrift of the summit when he misjudged a right-hander and slid down a bank. Perhaps the nadir for Breen last year was a crash in stage 5 at Rally New Zealand, at the same corner that caught out Colin McRae in 2002. M-Sport signed Breen to lead the team in 2022, but the two split after one difficult season
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