ERC
ERC #ThrowbackThursday: Snow, speed and a Breen masterclass
Christmas Day’s #ThrowbackThursday throws it back to round two of the 2015 FIA European Rally Championship, when Craig Breen conquered the snow-covered stages of Rally Liepāja.
Co-driven by Scott Martin, Irishman Breen mastered the most difficult of winter conditions, with thawing ice and slippery wet snow on day one and heavy blizzards of snow and freezing fog on day two.
Leading from stage two, the Peugeot 208 T16 driver balanced bravery with precision, emerging on top of a fiercely competitive ERC field to claim a memorable victory, the first of three in succession.
Co-driver Martin and Breen celebrate their ERC winter win
© ERC
“It was really a rally of attrition in tough conditions, but when we were pushing we were only beaten on one stage by 0.7sec so we always had the speed,” said Breen, who triumphed by 1min 40.7s. “Things changed very quickly but we stuck to our pace, and this is an awesome result. You have to go back through the history books, to the 1960s, for the last time an Irishman won on snow. It's a big boost for me and after winning on gravel and Tarmac in Greece last year I've now won on snow so that makes me a bit of an all-rounder.”
