On Thursday M-Sport Ford World Rally Team announced that Craig Breen will not continue to drive for them next season and will terminate the contract a year earlier.
At the end of last year, M-Sport signed Breen as the number one driver with a two-year contract, Breen´s season with the Ford Puma Rally1 car was underestimated. The Irishman finished third in the season-opener in Rallye Monte-Carlo in January and took a second-place finish in Rally Italia Sardegna.
Breen had many retirements this season and has not been quite up there as expected from his great performance in the beginning, with the latest being at the season-finale in Rally Japan last weekend. He did only finish seventh in the driver´s championship, which was disappointing for both the driver and the team.
“I want to extend a big thank you to M-Sport and the whole team for everything they’ve done for me this year, it has been an important season as my first full-time drive, and to complete that in a Puma has been fantastic. It has been a great experience for me to be part of the team, but ultimately, it’s time to move on. I’m looking forward to the future and continuing to build my partnership with James (Fulton, co-driver).” Breen said.
“Craig is a very talented driver and I have no doubt that he has more yet to achieve in his career, but the team feels we need a new approach for 2023. We wish Craig and James the very best of luck for the future, and we now turn our attentions towards next season and securing a competitive line-up for the Puma Hybrid Rally1.”Richard Millener, M-Sport Ford Team Principal, said.
“I want to thank Craig for his year with the team. He delivered some solid results throughout the season with two podiums and stage-winning performances on a variety of surfaces, but unfortunately, the consistency wasn’t there to lead the team into 2023.” Malcolm Wilson, Managing Director of M-Sport added.
Breen has been rumored to be linked to joining back to Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT, which is expected to announce the driver line-up this week. The same goes with M-Sport who also haven´t revealed the line-up yet but with Ott Tänak leaving Hyundai, it is expected he will go to M-Sport.
