Driver Craig Breen died in an accident before the Croatian Rally

The Irish pilot of world rally championship craig breen has died after suffering an accident on a reconnaissance before the rally in croatiaas reported by Hyundai Motorsport in a statement on Thursday.

The team said the co-pilot james fulton He was unhurt in the incident which took place after noon local time.

Motorsport.com reported that Breen’s car went off the road as the 33-year-old prepared for next week’s rally, his second of the season.

According to police sources, the vehicle rammed its left front end against a wooden post and the driver died instantly, while the co-driver did not sustain serious injuries.

The accident occurred at 12:40 pm between the Croatian towns of Stari Golubovac and Lobor, during the recce for the Croatian Rally, which will take place from April 20 to 23.

Breen competed in both the World Rally Championship and the European Championship.

The Waterford driver, who is set to compete only in the WRC this season, finished second at Rally Sweden, the second round of the year, in February.

In July last year, he was the first leader of the Estonian Rally, the seventh round of the World Championship, by winning the only section of the day, which was only 1.66 km.

In the 2022 Croatian Rally he came in fourth place and at the end of the season he was seventh in the World Cup standings.

Hyundai Motorsport expressed dismay at the death of its driver. “Hyundai Motorsport is deeply saddened to confirm that driver Craig Breen has passed away today following a crash during a test run ahead of Rally Croatia,” the team posted. “Co-pilot James Fulton, also Irish, was unhurt in the incident, which occurred just after noon local time,” it added.

Sending its “deepest condolences to Craig’s family, friends and many fans,” Hyundai Motorsport said it would not comment further at this time.