Even after recording the best ever result from an Irish rally driver at a World Rally Championship event in Sweden this weekend, Craig Breen will be sidelined for two months to accommodate a returning rally behemoth. The return to the sport of Sébastien Loeb, who will instead race in Craig’s Citroen, is scheduled for the upcoming rally in Mexico, much to Irish fans’ frustration.
Speaking to Ger and Eoin on OTB AM, Craig spoke of his frustration with the political situation in which he finds himself, and spoke of politics and money combining to bring Loeb back into the driving seat at his expense.
“It’s a bit of a political nightmare, if I’m being completely honest. Sébastien Loeb – nine times world champion – he has a rich and successful history with the PSA Group, with Citroen over the years – he won his world titles with Citroen. He ‘retired’ at the end of 2012, and was always tempted to come back and do something and this year – lo and behold – he has decided to come back and do three rallies. So, unfortunately the budget is quite tight at the moment in the PSA Group, so it means I have to give my car up for three rallies – two of them are one after the other. Mexico is the next rally I won’t do and then my favourite rally of the year in Corsica I won’t do either. It’s a bit of a shame, to be honest.”
Given the nature of his most recent result, the timing seems particularly cruel – but Craig remains philosophical, and what the potential solution may be.
“When you build up that momentum, when you build up that confidence, you like to carry that forward onto the next one rather than stop for two and a half months. To be politically correct about the whole thing, it’s out of my hands. The team are 150% behind me, but this is something that’s been decided by the hierarchy and you can’t do anything about it.”
“Money is the solution to everything. It’s an expensive sport, and that’s how it differs from other mainstream sports – the financial input that goes into it is huge and it’s not only talent that gets you to the top. You have to fall into the right place at the right time with the right backing and the right people around you. That’s how it is.
“It’s a funny sport – I can’t go into the garden and practice it – if I want to go and drive my car for the day it’s the guts of fifty to sixty thousand Euros per day just to drive the car if I want to do it. So you have to take every opportunity to drive the car and get the most out of every mile you can.”
Given the cost and the political upheaval that has led to Craig being sidelined for a significant period of the racing calendar, attention naturally turns to his contractual situation. In Formula 1, there is a great deal of jockeying for the signature of the best drivers – and Craig may find himself in a similar situation shortly enough.
“It’s exactly the same as Formula 1 – it’s swings and roundabouts. I signed a two-year contract with Citroen at the end of 2016, so that will run out at the end of this year. They have got an option on me for next year, so we’ll be sitting around a few tables come the end of the year to see what is the best package moving forward. Of course, I would like to stay where I am as I’ve built up a good relationship with them over the years, so hopefully there will be an option on the table to bring us closer to our main goal.”
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