Auction raises more than €50K for Craig Breen Foundation

The auction organised to mark the one-year anniversary of much-loved World Rally Championship driver Craig Breen's death in a testing accident was supported by the Hyundai team the Irishman drove for from 2019-2021 and in 2023, with numerous items donated.

The list of items up for auction included crash helmets worn by WRC drivers Thierry Neuville and Ott Tanak last year, a pair of Dani Sordo’s Hyundai WRC overalls and a passenger ride in a Hyundai WRC Rally1 car.

The auction closed on Tuesday night, having reached €51,982. Neuville’s crash helmet attracted the largest price at €10,010, while Tanak’s helmet went for €6,101. Sordo’s overalls will have a new owner following a bid of €2,800.

The funds will go directly to the Craig Breen Foundation, which was set up last year with the goal of helping young drivers through the rallying ranks, a cause Breen was particularly passionate about. It currently provides financial support to young drivers competing in Ireland’s J1000 Forestry Series.

The foundation has announced it will support the championship for a minimum five-year period.

Prizes on offer for drivers in the championship range from financial support to funded drives in the Spanish and Portuguese Hyundai i20 Cup with the Sports & You team, which Breen competed for in the Portuguese Rally Championship last year.

The Hyundai WRC team paid tribute to Breen at last weekend’s Croatia Rally by running a special tribute livery on its three i20 N Rally1 cars driven by Neuville, Tanak and Andreas Mikkelsen.

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images