Craig Breen finished fifth for the second time in the World Rally Championship in the works Citroen DS3 WRC at Rally Sweden.

Following a similar result in Rally Monte Carlo, the Waterford driver has settled well into the World Rally Championsip in his fledgling career with the Citroen World Rally Team.

The cars set off early Friday morning to tackle an opening loop of three stages Breen was ninth after Stage 2 and gained a place another place on the next stage. In the afternoon, the itinerary included a second run on the same three stages, before the leg concluded with a run on the Torsby stage. He remained eighth until the end of the day, despite a few incidents, such as breaking a front damper when he hit a rock (SS4) and a spin (SS6).

On Saturday's leg Breen and co-driver Scott Martin were determined to have an error-free day and started the leg well as they moved up into seventh position on SS7. Gradually improving their pace, the crew's consistency paid off over the course of the afternoon. Drama on the final stage of the day when the rally leader Thierry Neuville  took a wheel off meant they ended the day in the top five of the overall standings.

The final leg resembled something of a sprint finish, with three stages covering less than 60km. After dragging themselves into the top 5 on day two, Craig and Scott 's aim was to hold onto their position. They set about the job in hand by adopting a balanced approach, between going for speed and avoiding taking risks. At the end of the Power Stage, Craig could take some satisfaction from meeting the target set for him by the team before the start. Thanks to two fifth-place finishes in Monte-Carlo and here in Sweden, the Irishman stays in the same position in the Drivers' World Championship.

Afterwards Craig Breen said: "I'm pleased to have made it to the finish and to score my first points for a factory team. It was a pretty cool weekend, even though we weren't always completely happy with our performance level. We have to move on. The Citroën C3 WRC has so much potential and I can't wait to be driving it again"