On his return to TitansRX, rallying star Craig Breen stunned by completing more on-track passes than any other driver en route to the round five final at Montalegre.
Although he jumped the start in his semi-final, earning himself a penalty lap and seemingly ending any hope of a final berth, the Irishman powered back through the field to claim a transfer spot and a spot in the main event, passing most of the field and more than doubling his overtaking tally from qualifying in just three laps.
„It wasn’t exactly what I wanted, having jumped the start in the semi-final and having to take the penalty lap, but it was fun, I enjoyed it,“ said Breen. „Okay I damaged the car a little bit in the semi-final and I had to carry that into the final because we didn’t have any time to fix it, but even to get into the final was nice. I’m happy with the day.“
Of course this isn’t the first time Breen has impressed. He arrived at round two in Essay, France fresh from his victory in the Ypres rally the day before and having never driven the Pantera RX6, yet he was instantly at the sharp end of the field. Due to World Rally commitments, Breen sat out of the races at Lydden Hill, but the time on the sidelines proved to be of no hindrance.
„Okay, I missed a bit of driving in Lydden Hill but for me I’m driving so many different cars this year, jumping in and out, that it’s not so difficult to just jump in and drive it again,“ he said. „I was quite on the pace already early on here today and I think the gravel here helps me a lot as well.“
„It would’ve been nice to be fresh here after doing Lydden Hill as well but I think it didn’t hold me back so much.“
Montalegre’s unique layout, consisting of a lengthy and twisty dirt section has already proved to be playing into the hands of the rally drivers on the grid, with wildcard drivers – and rallycross rookies – Armindo Arujo and Ivan Ares both starring as well.
„If you look at Essay and Lydden Hill there was quite a lot of tarmac all the way through apart from small bits of gravel,“ said Breen. „Here it’s proper gravel and you have to really drive a bit more aggressive. I think that definitely helped.“
Looking ahead to round six and beyond, Breen is looking to get luck on his side to go along with the speed he’s already shown and push for a podium.
„I think if we’re a bit more fortunate and have a bit more luck in the heats and the semis, if I can get my self up closer to the front in the final, I think definitely we have the speed to do it,“ Breen said of his podium ambitions.
