In the past twelve months, Craig Breen has hit the start line of WRC events on six occasions. Five of those were in 2021 when he filled a part-time role for Hyundai, and the most recent one came to a close this morning in Monte Carlo.
While he had five outings as an optional driver, he's managed to stand on the podium four times.
Earlier today, just outside Monaco he secured third spot at the seasonal opener.
Sébastien Loeb became the oldest winner of an FIA World Rally Championship round after grabbing a remarkable Rallye Monte-Carlo victory from the under the nose of old foe Sébastien Ogier on Sunday.
The 47-year-old Frenchman trailed Ogier by almost half a minute heading into the penultimate speed test of the four-day event in the French Alps.
But when Ogier limped to the finish with a front left puncture, Loeb reclaimed a lead he had conceded to his compatriot on Saturday. He stayed calm through the final test to seal his eighth Monte-Carlo success in a Ford Puma by 10.5sec.
Loeb, starting his first WRC event for more than a year, was competing for the British M-Sport Ford squad in a one-off appearance. He joins Ogier at the top of the Monte-Carlo roll of honour with eight wins.
His victory means he has topped the WRC podium in three different decades. Co-driver Isabelle Galmiche, a 50-year-old schoolteacher who was making her first top-tier start, became the first female winner of a WRC fixture since 1997.
"I didn't expect so much when I came here," Loeb admitted. "It was a great fight, Ogier was really fast and I struggled a bit yesterday and even this morning."
The duel between the most successful drivers in the sport's history proved a fitting start to the new hybrid-powered era in the championship's 50th season.
Ogier led initially after Thursday's short opening night in his Toyota GR Yaris, but a run of four consecutive fastest times on Friday put Loeb ahead. He failed to find the same pace on Saturday and Ogier moved back in front before Sunday's breathtaking finale.
Thursday was not the ideal start for Breen. Racing in the dark around the Monaco hills, he was having a tough time adjusting to the new car with all the new hybrid intricacies. He found himself in seventh place heading into Friday morning but a calm and steady approach for the next three days allowed him to gain places where others dropped time.
His teammate Adrian Fourmaux opened the door when he crashed off the course - in what was a nasty shunt, but ultimately left him unharmed.
Toyota's Thierry Neuville was struggling to get the best out of his Hyundai and offered up some time to Breen who happily took it.
Elsewhere, Gus Greensmith (another Ford driver) claimed his first-ever stage win on the WRC but suffered a puncture on Friday and lost nearly two minutes.
The other bit of luck that played into Breen's hands was when Welsh Toyota driver Elfyn Evans spun off the side of the road and was unable to get his car back on the route under its own steam.
All-in-all, Breen gained four spots over Friday and Saturday and jumped from seventh to third - he would remain in the top three until the final stage was over.
Ford M-Sport team principal Malcolm Wilson was expectedly content with his team's efforts over the four days - both on and off the road,
"It's just been an incredible event, you know, to come here; everybody with new cars and for it all to be battled out on the final stage. It's just again, I think it's just great the way the technical regulations and new technology - to have such great close competition. It's just, it's incredible. That's the incredible thing about this sport of rally. It's just unbelievable"
Breen will be back in the hot seat next month when he pulls up to the start line for Rally Sweden, which kicks off on February 24th.
