Slieverue man Craig Breen has signed a two-year contract with the M-Sport Ford rally team.
It’ll see him compete for Ford in all 13 rounds of the World Rally Championship next season.
Breen has recently secured podium finishes in Estonia, Belgium, and Finland and he sits sixth in the championship standings.
It’s the first time Craig has been handed a full WRC campaign following part-programmes with Hyundai and Citroën.
He got to take the Puma on a test spin on gravel in Britain a few weeks ago and will have longer tests in Spain later this month.
Speaking to WRC, Craig said:
“I have been working towards achieving a full-time seat in the World Rally Championship since I was a little boy, so this was an opportunity I just couldn’t turn down, enthused the 31-year-old.
“It has been a long road for us in the World Rally Championship with many twists and turns but we have now been given a golden ticket to drive for the most prestigious marque in motorsport and fight for the World Rally Championship.”
Breen, who won the 2011 WRC Academy in an M-Sport-built Fiesta R2 before claiming the Super 2000 crown the following year in a Fiesta S2000, said Ford had always been close to his heart.
“I love rallying, every nuance of the sport, but especially the history. To add my name to the list of drivers that have driven for Ford is a bit surreal, drivers like Ari Vatanen, Hannu Mikkola, Colin McRae, and Carlos Sainz. To have my name etched in the history books besides these greats is a huge privilege,” he added.
