THE teams arrived for the fourth round of the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship season with heavy hearts following the death of Hyundai Motorsport’s Craig Breen following a crash on a Croatia Rally pre-event test.

Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Elfyn Evans, of Dolgellau, gave his tribute to a very popular driver on the circuit: “So very hard to believe the sad news today (Thursday).

“Craig’s passion, enthusiasm and love for the sport was unmatched and he will be sorely missed by many people.

“Thoughts are with Craig’s family and friends.”

Considered the first pure asphalt round of the season, the Croatia Rally joined the WRC schedule two years ago and the varied roads around the country’s capital city, Zagreb, are already seen as some of the most challenging on the calendar.

Sébastien Ogier, who is leading the championship, will make his third start of the year following historic victories on Rallye Monte-Carlo and Rally México.

His Toyota Gazoo Racing team-mates Kalle Rovanperä and Elfyn Evans are only four and 12 points from the lead respectively following consistent starts to their campaigns.

With the service park located within Zagreb itself, the stages take place in the north of Croatia close to neighbouring Slovenia.

The roads feature a wide variety of different asphalt types, which means that the grip available is constantly changing, while mud and rain can bring further challenges.

Some sections are technical and twisting, but many others are fast and flowing with jumps and crests.

Much of the route for this year is familiar from 2022.

After shakedown on Thursday morning (20 April) and a ceremonial start in Zagreb that evening, Friday’s opening day action takes place just to the west of the city.

All four stages are repeated after mid-day service, creating the rally’s longest day in terms competitive distance, at 130.18 kilometres.

The second stage of the loop (Stojdraga – Hartje) has been extended to 25.67 km, making it the longest of the weekend.

Saturday ventures much further south-west, towards the city of Rijeka on the Adriatic coast, with another repeated loop of four stages that takes in the only new test for this year: Ravna Gora – Skrad.

The final day on Sunday is held to the north of Zagreb, with a pair of stages run twice; Zagorska Sela – Kumrovec hosting the rally-ending Power Stage for the third year in succession.

TGR team principal Jari-Matti Latvala said: “Along with the rest of the WRC family, we are truly saddened following the sudden loss of Craig Breen.

“As well as being a top driver, Craig was a real enthusiast for rallying, and we shared the same passion for old rally cars and for the history of our sport.

“As we prepare for the next rally, our thoughts are with Craig’s family, friends and his colleagues within the service park.”

He added: “We know that the Croatia Rally can be a very challenging event: last year the conditions were extremely difficult, and even in the dry there is still a lot of dirt brought onto the road.

“It has been a good rally for us on our previous two visits and, together with our drivers, we will try our best to make it another successful weekend.

“As championship leader, Seb will be first on the road and this is a good starting point.

“Kalle had one of his best performances last year in Croatia, showing how good he is when the conditions get difficult, and we know Elfyn can also be strong whenever grip levels are changing a lot.”