Craig Breen finishes seventh on opening stage of Rally Sweden

On the short opening 5.16km Umea stage on Thursday evening Breen and co-driver James Fulton finished in seventh spot behind rally leaders Finland’s Kalle Rovanpera/Jonne Halttunen

SNOW FUN: Craig Breen of Ireland and James Fulton of Ireland are competing with their Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid during Day One of the FIA World Rally Championship Sweden. Pic: Massimo Bettiol/Getty Images

Hyundai Motorsport and World Rally Championship returnee Waterford’s Craig Breen has an opportunity to show his pace on this weekend’s Rally Sweden, the only true snow rally in the World Rally Championship. On the short opening 5.16km Umea stage on Thursday evening Breen and co-driver James Fulton finished in seventh spot - 6.7 seconds behind rally leaders Finland’s Kalle Rovanpera/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota Yaris Rally1).

At the stage finish, Breen said, “I struggled for traction coming out of the junctions and I was a bit messy in the braking spots but we got through it. looking forward to tomorrow.” From the high of finishing third on last year’s Rallye Monte Carlo on what was his debut as M-Sport’s team leader, his contractual agreement with the British based team ended prematurely amidst public criticism from his M-Sport bosses. Although it is only a partial programme with Hyundai, it is one that offers the chance of career redemption.