Red Bull Motorsports
WRC
Seb Ogier: Craig Breen was a great ambassador for our sport
In the first of a new series of blogs, eight-times world champion Sébastien Ogier pays tribute to fellow driver Craig Breen, who passed away recently.
Preparing for April's Croatia Rally, the news of Craig [Breen, passing away in a testing accident] was so shocking.
I want to talk about the sport and, I guess, when you are looking at this, you want to read about the sport.
But sometimes, there are some things which are just more important.
Like I say, the shock was incredible. To come together with the other crews and to go to the recce, the start of the week in Zagreb was really, really tough. During these days and then on Thursday, we had a lot of time to talk about Craig and to think about him. I was talking with James [Fulton, Craig’s co-driver] and his friends. It was so hard.
He was a special guy.
The WRC crew paying tribute to Craig Breen
© Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool
Nobody was enjoying himself more than Craig when he was driving a rally car. This level of passion was incredible and so visible – he always had the right words to say, to describe what he was doing and to bring the emotion to our fans. Craig was a great ambassador for our sport.
I think one thing we know is that Craig would have wanted the rally to continue and, for this, I think the right decision was made to go ahead with it. On the weekend, we all did it for Craig; the result didn’t matter.
This weekend, we all did it for Craig; the result didn’t matter
When we came to the competition, I wasn’t sure how things would be. I knew it could be complicated with the emotions, but somehow I was able to put myself in a kind of bubble. When the race started, like always, it was so intense and so demanding of every part of you.
For the race, I think we can say that this weekend was not the one for us. I feel my co-driver Vincent [Landais] and I had the speed we needed to win this rally. We had the pace, but sometimes the result just doesn’t go your way.
The drivers pause to reflect on the passing of Craig Breen
© Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool
There was a big evolution in the road from the recce to the rally. We had a lot of rain during recce, and this brought a lot of dirt to the road – the cuts were so muddy.
During the rally, the weather improved and the roads dried out – but we still had to have a lot of focus and put a lot of trust in our gravel crew and the meteo team.
In terms of the driving, it was enjoyable. The stages in Croatia are nice, they’re demanding roads and really challenging when you’re trying to read the grip in the changing conditions.
Like I said, for the sporting side, there was definitely some positive moments from the rally with my speed and my team-mates Elfyn [Evans] and Scott [Martin, co-driver] winning was really good for the team.
On the podium and at the end of the rally, the emotion for Craig returned.
It was an emotional weekend in Zagreb for Ogier and the WRC as a whole
© Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool
Craig’s mom [Jackie] talked about how much she wants people to smile, to think of her boy and to smile. Honestly, it’s still difficult. We try to, we really try to. But it’s not easy, the sadness is still so much there so soon after.
Heading home from Croatia, honestly I felt quite tired. The rally week is always pretty tough with the physical side of things: quite long days, short nights and a lot of road section on this rally – and when you're adding to this the emotion, it was tiring. It’s nice to know I have some free time ahead of me now. I don’t compete in Portugal.
OK, we have some testing this week in Sardinia and I think we can say that this will be my next rally, but it’s nice to take some time at home.
And at home the family got bigger: we have a new dog with us now. Our puppy arrived two weeks ago and is keeping us busy already. Like you can imagine, there’s some education to be made, but the dog is already bringing a lot of joy in the house.
We need these moments right now.
Ogier in action in Zagreb
© Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool
I think Croatia showed how much we’re missing Craig already. The moment at the finish was another really strong one.
For Craig, his life was much too short. We will never forget him.
