Ireland’s World Rally Championship contenders Craig Breen and Paul Nagle equalled their previous best result when they brought their Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC home in runner up position in Rally Estonia.

This was  the first WRC event for six months thanks due to the Covid-19 pandemic and on Saturday the Waterford-Killarney pair finished just 11.7 seconds behind Hyundai team leader and defending World Rally champion Ott Tanak, Six times title holder Sebastien Ogier‘s Toyota Yaris  was a further 17 seconds behind the Irish crew in third place. 


Sunday’s final six stages on his home ground saw Tanak increase his lead to 22 seconds at the finish, with Breen and Nagle holding off the challenge of Ogier, setting best times overall on two of the seventeen stages. 


A delighted Breen said afterwards: “What an incredible weekend! From the opening kilometres of the rally, everything just clicked. The car has done absolutely everything I’ve asked of it and has given me the confidence I needed. The man beside me, Paul, has done a fantastic job and I’d like to thank everyone who has made this possible. I feel like I’m starting my career all over again; I’ve certainly not forgotten how to do it and I want to do it even more!”