Cool Craig Breen rules Circuit of Ireland Rally once again

A second Circuit of Ireland Rally victory for Craig Breen and co-driver Scott Martin (Citroen DS3 R5) was secured by desire and determination after the pair saw their relatively safe lead whittled away to just 5.2 seconds prior to the final two stages.

A puncture threatened to deny them the spoils on this second round of the European Rally Championship, however, they remained composed and competitive to finish 10.6 seconds in front of the Fiesta R5 of Polish duo Kajetan Kajetanowicz/Jaroslaw Baran. Northern Ireland’s Alastair Fisher/Gordon Noble (Fiesta R5) were 45.8 seconds further behind in third. Meanwhile, fourth-placed Monaghan crew Josh Moffett/John Rowan (Ford Fiesta R5) are the new leaders of the Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Rally Championship.

Breen began Saturday morning’s three stages near Ballynahinch with a 25.1 second advantage. Tyre choice was crucial but the strategy of opting for a softer compound proved detrimental. His respective losses to Kajetanowicz were 7.2, 6.4, and 3.1 seconds. He stopped the decline on the stage at Banbridge (SS10) where he was two seconds up on his rival.