Category win secures world rally title for Breen

Irish driver Craig Breen on board his Kel-Tech liveried Ford Fiesta won the S2000 World Rally Championship after he secured a category win on the Rally de Espana, the final round of the series.

Some 12 months after he clinched the WRC Academy title in dramatic circumstances, Breen’s road to glory this time around was on a different path. In second position after the opening two stages on Friday, Breen moved into the lead of the category on the third stage where his one and only rival, PG Andersson (Proton Satria S2000) lost time with differential woes. Thereafter, Breen drove at a steady pace to ensure success and finished two minutes and 5.7 seconds ahead of Andersson.

Breen was sixth in overall classification that marked a personal best for the current Motorsport Ireland International Driver of the Year. Having slipped down the championship rankings in mid-season, yesterday’s category win the in the S2000 series was his third in a row and follows category wins at Rally GB and Rallye de France. He also won the opening round in Monte Carlo

“It’s incredible, I can’t believe it,” said a highly emotional Breen. “There are so many things, I’m so, so happy, I need to thank so many people.”

Breen was partnered by Killarney’s Paul Nagle.

Meanwhile, Sebastien Loeb bid farewell to the WRC as a full-time driver with the 76th victory of his career.

On the domestic scene and with fastest time on all six stages, Wexford’s James Stafford and co-driver Amy Ryan took a comfortable victory in the Banna Beach Resort Kerry Rally. Their nimble Darian T90 finished 52 seconds ahead of the MG S2000 of Clonmel’s Roy White and his co-driver, Martin Brady, who fended off the spirited challenge of the Mitsubishi of Alan Ring/Adrian Deasy.

The popular rally also decided the outcome of the Top Part West Coast Rally Championship with the Tyrone/Cork duo of Frank Kelly/Liam Brennan (Escort) taking the spoils, their only title rivals, Colm Murphy/Don Montgomery (Subaru) retired on the penultimate stage with a broken driveshaft.

On the first stage that began on the outskirts of Listowel, Stafford (Darrian T90) blitzed the opposition with a superb performance that put him 18 seconds ahead of his closest rival, Frank Kelly (Ford Escort). Stafford’s car coped best with the slippery conditions, with second placed Kelly admitting to a few anxious moments. Top seed, Alan Ring (Mitsubishi) and the MG S2000 of Roy White tied for third – three seconds behind Kelly.

Kelly’s Top Part West Coast Rally Championship rival, Colm Murphy, was down in seventh place having broken a driveshaft early in the stage.

On the shorter second stage Stafford was also the quickest as he stretched his lead over Kelly to 25 seconds. Ring had a consistent run to remain third – two seconds behind Kelly with White a similar time frame behind in fourth. Murphy continued to lose time with a broken driveshaft and was 20 seconds off his championship rival, Kelly.

Stafford was quickest on the repeat of the two stages and extended his lead to 50 seconds with White and Ring jostling for second, the latter a second behind his rival. In the race for supremacy in the Top Part series, Kelly had a brief off road excursion on Stage 4 when he slipped into a field allowing Murphy to close to within 11 seconds. However, it was academic when Murphy’s Subaru broke yet another driveshaft and he retired after the penultimate test leaving Kelly as the champion even before the rally finish.

Stafford eased off and took a deserved win with White taking second and Ring completing the top three. Late entry, Ed Synan (Escort), John Hendy (Toyota Corolla) and newly crowned Top Part West Coast champion, Frank Kelly (Escort) completed the top six. The final pair of stages featured a number of retirements including Barry Ryan (Escort), who held down a top six position until an engine malady forced him out; Frank Sweeney (Escort), Tommy Mason (Escort) and Eddie Power (Toyota Corolla) also failed to finish.