Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Breen hails Pirelli programme move

Irish driver Craig Breen has admitted winning a place on next year's Pirelli Star Driver programme is the biggest moment of his career to date

The Ford Fiesta S2000 driver was one of six drivers announced in Salou, Spain yesterday afternoon. Breen has spent this season competing in the British Rally Championship, where he took his first BRC win - the International Rally Northern Ireland - earlier this year.

Breen said: "This is fantastic. It's been a fantastic couple of days, there's been a lot of pressure, but this is a fantastic opportunity made possible by the FIA and Pirelli. It's a great chance for a young driver like myself to be seen in the WRC. To be honest, at the moment, it's a complete flow of emotion, but it's time for me to move on to the next step of my career."

Breen will be joined in the PSD crew of 2011 by fellow BRC driver Molly Taylor. The Australian becomes the first lady to be included in the FIA's young driver development scheme.

Taylor, a double British Ladies champion, said: ""I feel overwhelmed just to be sitting here. Opportunities like this don't come along very often to be selected - I'm just pinching myself at the moment!"

Sweden's youngest ever rally winner Fredrik Ahlin was also picked, but he admitted he feared the worst when he saw his rivals attack the gravel and asphalt stages in the Ford Fiesta R2s they were driving. "I thought I had no chance when I saw them!" he said. "But now my dream has come true."

Australia's Brendan Reeves ensures there's a driver from the FIA Asia- Pacific Rally Championship in PSD for the third successive season, while Italy's Andrea Crugnola, a former under-23 Italian Champion, and Czech Republic driver Jan Cerny join the six from the European Rally Championship.

FIA World Rally Championship Commission president Morrie Chandler said: "This is the first time we have held a 'global' shoot-out. The camaraderie between the crews from various parts of the world was great to see and created a good competitive environment. I am sure all the participants learned from the experience."

Pirelli motorsport manager Mario Isola added: "It's really exciting to see the next year of Pirelli Star Drivers coming through. Once again, I think we have found some real talent. Having drivers coming from across the world for the shoot-out has made this a very interesting event for us.

"Pirelli is proud to have backed the FIA's young driver development initiative and we are delighted to see this continue into next season, maintaining Pirelli's presence in the FIA World Rally Championship and furthering our rich history at the pinnacle of world rallying."

Be part of the Autosport community

Join the conversation
Previous article Loeb clinches Catalunya victory
Next article Q & A with Craig Breen

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe