The World Rally Championship’s top stars were left choking back their emotions on what proved to be a difficult day for all concerned during the shakedown for Rally Croatia.
The times set on the 3.65-kilometre practice stage were almost irrelevant as the likes of Kalle Rovanpera, Ott Tanak and Sebastien Ogier paid their respects to fallen friend Craig Breen following his tragic death during a testing accident last week.
Their words were particularly poignant given the circumstances of the incident, as revealed by Hyundai team principal Cyril Abiteboul.
Reigning champion Rovanpera, who finished quickest in the warm, dry conditions with a time of one minute 52.8s in his Toyota, said: “It (the rest of the rally) is going to be really difficult.
“I’m doing just fine at the moment but the most important thing is that everybody is here to drive for Craig. That’s quite clear why we are all here and why we are doing it.”
Tanak, who was initially quickest in his M-Sport Ford on the first run but had to settle for second following the third and final pass, 0.8s behind Rovanpera, said: “I know it’s difficult, demanding and so hard for all of us.
“It’s empty inside and it’s eating us alive. It’s tough, but I promised to give a smile to Jackie (Breen, Craig’s mother).
“She had so much positive energy when I was there last Sunday. They are such lovely people. We keep going and so do you.”
Championship leader Ogier, third on the timesheet in his Toyota in an identical time to Tanak, remarked: “We are all trying to go forward. It’s going to be a tough week for all of us.
“But I think – I’m sure actually – that there was no one who had more rallying in his blood than Craig, so for sure he’s happy to see us racing this weekend.
“We do it for him. That’s the only thing we can do.”
Lappi left shaking with emotion
Breen’s Hyundai team-mates Esapekka Lappi and Thierry Neuville were fourth and sixth quickest either side of Takamoto Katsuta.
With the i20 N Rally 1’s carrying a special livery in tribute to Breen, a visibly emotional Lappi said: “The guys did an amazing job to make it look like this on such short notice.
“I’m shaking on the finish line, not because I pushed hard but because…every one of us takes it in different ways and for me, it’s tough. For me, it’s tough.”
Elfyn Evans, runner-up to Ogier by 0.6s on the first WRC-counting Rally Croatia in 2021, suffered an apparent technical issue with his Toyota which resulted in him clocking a slow 2:44.0s.
Evans would not be drawn on the problem, simply stating: “We have something to sort.”
In WRC2, Erik Cais served notice of his intentions by outpacing points leader and fellow Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 driver Oliver Solberg to the fastest time, albeit by a narrow 0.2s margin. They were eighth and ninth overall respectively.
The ceremonial start at the National and University Library in Zagreb commences at 6.30pm CET (2.30am AEST) when several tributes will be paid to Breen and his family.
The 19.29km run of Mali Lipovec-Grdanjci is the first of 20 special stages and is due to get underway at 8.03am local time (2.03pm AEST) on Friday, with the finish scheduled for Sunday afternoon in the Croatian capital.
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