Rally fans worldwide mourn the passing of Waterford's Craig Breen

RIP: The late Craig Breen with the Castlereagh Trophy following his victory on the Discover Northern Ireland 2015 Circuit of Ireland Rally. Pic: Martin Walsh.

Rally fans across the globe are lamenting the tragic passing of Irish rally star Craig Breen (33), who lost his life on Thursday when his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 crashed during a pre-event test with his Hyundai Motorsport team in advance of next week’s fourth round of the World Rally Championship in Croatia. His Cavan co-driver James Fulton was unharmed in the incident that occurred just after midday local time.

The Waterford driver had a huge following on the world rallying scene and wore his heart on his sleeve. He made no secret of the fact that rallying was his world, his sport, he knew of nothing else, indeed, nothing else seemed to matter. At the beginning of this season, he returned to the Korean outfit for a second time - sharing the third Hyundai with Spaniard Dani Sordo while also campaigning a Hyundai i20 N Rally2 in the Portuguese Rally series.