Hyundai will run this livery in tribute to Craig Breen

Hyundai has revealed the livery it will run at this weekend’s Croatia Rally, paying tribute to driver Craig Breen who was very sadly killed in a pre-event test last week.

The 33-year-old’s funeral was held in his hometown of Waterford earlier this week, and having spoken to his friends and family everyone agreed that Breen would’ve wanted the team to keep racing.

And so it shall: Hyundai will run two cars in Croatia instead of its usual three, and as a mark of respect rival Toyota has agreed that only two of its cars will be eligible for points in the manufacturers’ championship this weekend.

In a statement team boss Cyril Abiteboul called Breen “an incredible person”, and confirmed that there’d be “a number of initiatives” to honour the nine-time WRC podium finisher, including a book of condolence in the team’s hospitality unit.

Abiteboult also gave details of the accident for the first time: apparently road conditions were slippery when Breen’s car “slid off the road at a relatively low speed” and made contact with a wooden fence.

A post “intruded into the cabin through the driver’s side window”, and although Breen was taken to hospital it’s thought his death was “instantaneous”. Thankfully co-driver James Fulton was unhurt.

“Hyundai Motorsport and the FIA are working together to review all aspects of the incident,” Abiteboul added. “As far as can be ascertained, there was no issue with any element of the car, the tyres or the safety equipment. The local police completed a report at the scene.”

#ForCraig 🇮🇪 @Craig_Breen was deeply proud of his Irish roots and was a beloved member of the Irish rally community. To honour his memory, we will be running with this special livery at @CroatiaRally, which incorporates the colours of the Irish flag 🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/CwA5XocbHk

— hmsgofficial (@HMSGOfficial) April 19, 2023