After three difficult last rounds, where he had notably admitted himself “a little lost” in Croatia then in Portugal, Craig Breen managed to find the martingale to make his Ford Puma Rally1 work as well as possible this weekend in Sardinia.
Grateful for having searched during this period “something not worth it”it was ultimately a much more relaxed Breen who looked back on his performance in Sardinia, where he scored his second podium of the season after that of Monte-Carlo.
The Irishman finished second in what was probably the most difficult rally so far this season, with ambient temperatures around 35°C, equaling his best result obtained in the WRC.
The pilot M-Sport has consistently been at the forefront this weekend, finishing in fourth place after the first leg before getting the better of his teammate Pierre Louis Loubet the following day, and even climb to second place in the rally following the retirement ofEsapekka Lapland.
From then on, it was above all a question for Breen of containing the return of Dani Sordowho had already played a bad trick two weeks earlier in Portugal by depriving on the wire Takamoto Katsuta of the podium during the Power Stage. But this time the Spaniard did not achieve his goals, handicapped by a poor choice of tires on Saturday afternoon and by an engine cut which caused him to lose precious seconds.
Good operation in the championship
And it was finally with a 1’33 lead that Breen took second place, himself more than a minute behind the winner, Ott Tänak. A result that allows the Irishman to move up from sixth to fourth place in the championship, certainly 68 points behind the leader Kalle Rovanperä.
“I feel good, but I’m tired”confessed Breen on arrival. “It was a long weekend, but now I feel calmer. I just feel better about myself. I feel better about my riding. I had more fun and I would say that I’ve been a bit lost in the last rallies, as I was looking for something that wasn’t worth it.”
“I just tried to let the car do the job, and I enjoyed the weekend more, which allowed me to show better speed. I was very happy with the pace the car set. , and to be honest it was the first time that I felt so confident on this type of road. So I think our pace was really good. Of course, I think there was still a margin for me to go even faster, but it was important to get a podium like this, and get back on the right track.”
By returning to the podium in Sardinia, Breen is relaunching the championship, now in fourth position
Breen is one of two M-Sport drivers to feature in the top five on Rally Sardinia, with Frenchman Pierre-Louis Loubet finishing fourth for his best result in the discipline.
The Corsican was even in third position at the end of the first stage, before a puncture on Saturday morning compromised his chances of appearing on the podium. Still, this is a real step forward for the latter, who was only taking part in his third rally of the season in Italy.
