World Rally Championship: Craig Breen second in Sweden as Ott Tanak triumphs
- Published
Breen was given a 10-second penalty for a late check-in before one of Sunday's stage - seemingly following team orders - which allowed Hyundai team-mate Thierry Neuville to briefly move into second spot
Estonia's Ott Tanak deprived Ireland's Craig Breen of a maiden World Rally Championship win in Sweden on Sunday.
Hyundai driver Breen, 33, led for more than half the rally in the snow and ice before being overhauled on Saturday evening by Tanak in his Ford Puma.
World champion Tanak, the 35-year-old 2019 world champion, extended his lead on Sunday as he won by 18.7 seconds.
Breen lost second spot to team-mate Thierry Neuville after a time penalty but regained it just before the finish.
The Waterford man was given a 10-second penalty for a late check-in before one of Sunday's stages - seemingly following team orders - but Neuville lost time on the final stage which saw Breen finish the rally 1.8 seconds ahead of the Belgian.
Tanak's second victory in Sweden marked the British M-Sport team's first World Rally Championship series victory since their triumph in Monte Carlo 13 months ago.
The Estonian drove for M-Sport between 2011 and 2017 before spending several seasons with rivals Toyota and Hyundai.
Defending world champion Kalle Rovanpera was fourth ahead of his Toyota colleague Welshman Elfyn Evans.
The WRC circuit moves to Mexico next month when eight-time champion Sebastien Ogier, who won the opener in Monte Carlo, will be back after skipping the Swedish snow.
For Tanak it represented an 18th win at this level but his first since joining Ford.
He moves into the championship lead on 41 points from Rovanpera on 38 and Neuville six points adrift in third.
While Breen missed out on victory, Northern Ireland's William Creighton won his first Junior WRC event in the second-closest finish is the series' history.
Motorsport Ireland driver Creighton had dominated the class and held a comfortable lead heading into Saturday's final few stages but he lost more than a minute after his bonnet came loose.
That handed Frenchman Laurent Pellier a 19.7 second lead ahead of Sunday's final three stages, but Creighton and co-driver Liam Regan produced a stunning recovery and claimed a dramatic victory by 0.6 seconds.