2nd in Super 2000 for Breen at Monza Rally Show

2nd in Super 2000 for Breen at Monza Rally Show

Posted: November 25, 2013 9:18 AM

Away from the constraints of ERC the championship Craig Breen was in action at the Monza Rally Show this weekend. The three day event was based on the famous Monza Grand Prix Track in Lombardy northern Italy. Breen was competing in a Peugeot 207 Super 2000 for the Italian POWER TEAM CAR team, with Englishman Sebastian Marshall calling the pacenotes. The drive was made possible with the cooperation of POWER TEAM CAR, LASER INDUSTRIES and the Munaretto Group. After two days of testing and a long three day event Craig and Seb finished 2nd in the Super 2000 class and 16th overall.

At the finish Craig said,
“I’m really delighted, it’s been great to compete here. The ERC championship came to close a few weeks ago so it was great to get the opportunity to compete at such a prestigious event this weekend. This is a unique show and posed a real challenge over the three days. It’s different than a normal rally as it’s all located within the confines of the Grand Prix circuit but for sure it does work and the organisers have done a great job. I want to thank POWER TEAM CAR, the Munaretto Group and Laser Industries for making it possible."

After two days of testing the live action got underway on Friday evening (22 Nov) with two timed stages, Breen was promptly on the pace placed 2nd in class and just outside the top ten overall. Saturday entailed five special stages and included two runs of the immense ‘Grand Prix’ 32.5 km test. Breen tussled with Luca Rossetti (Skoda Fabia S2000) throughout but had to give way on this occasion to the Skoda driver. Two stages made up the final day with Craig holding station in a comfortable position in class. The final standings were Luca Rossetti Super 2000 class winner, Breen in 2nd +51.9 seconds and Manuel Villa in 3rd +2min 3.4seconds.

The action continued on Sunday afternoon with the Simoncelli Masters Show. This event is held in honour of the former MotoGP rider Marco Simoncelli who died after an accident during the 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang. The event took place in front of a packed main stand again at the Monza track and saw competitors compete against each other on a specially shortened course. Craig was again competing in the Super 2000 class and in the first qualifying heat Breen beat Alessandro Bosca (Peugeot 207) and in the semi-final Craig came out on top against Paolo Oppizzi. So on to the final and Craig faced his arch rival Luca Rossetti. Rossetti got off to a great start, where Craig got held up on a hairpin. This turned out to be the decisive factor as it gave the Skoda Fabia driver breathing space and he went on to take the win. This brought the curtain down on the 2013 Monza Rally Show. Back at the POWER TEAM CAR service area Craig said,
“Again, I repeat this has been a great weekend. After taking part in the ‘Rally Show’ over the last three day it was great to round things off with the Masters Show. It’s run like a super special in the World Rally Championship. I had good runs in the heats and in the semi-final but in the final was up against Luca. I’m tired of coming second to him by now (laugh) but seriously I made a small error at the start and over such a short course there’s no way back. Like I said earlier this has been a great event and I want to thank all involved in making it possible.”