Straight after winning this year’s Croatian Rally, Welshman Elfyn Evans paid tribute to his fellow driver, Irishman Craig Breen, who died in test run shortly before this weekend’s event.
“Obviously we’ve been working towards this for a long time, but it all feels so insignificant at the moment – that’s the bottom line,” said Evans.
“After the focus of the weekend, we’re all back to missing our friend now. Straightaway after coming across the finish line, that’s all we can think about. We promised Craig’s family that we would enjoy the weekend, and we’ve done that. We’re all thinking of them right now.”
Only 33, Hyundai driver Breen was a previous winner of the Super 2000 WRC. Several members of the WRC fraternity attended his funeral in Ferrybank, Ireland, and his car number of 42 will be retired for the rest of the season.
Evans and Scott Martin, both from the UK, won the 2023 Croatia Rally in a Toyota and leapfrogged to the top of the FIA World Rally Championship standings. The Croatia Rally was being run for the 47th time, over 20 special stages in the area around Zagreb. The podium ceremony took place in the tranquil village of Kumrovec, best known as the birthplace of Josip Broz Tito.