Ireland is hailing a new World champion today after Waterford Rally driver Craig Breen completed a hat trick of late season wins to be crowned the S2000 World Rally Champion in Spain.
Breen overcame tragedy in June when his friend and co-driver Gareth Roberts died in an accident.  It seemed at the time as though he could not possibly return to the same level that produced last year’s World Academy title but yesterday’s performance also equalled the record for the best S2000 performance in the rankings of the main FIA World Rally Championship.
Rallying has a strong tradition in Ireland and the emergence of Breen as a young talent opens up the prospect of future world championship status at the highest level.  He is only 22 years old and has been competing in various forms of motorsport at national level since his karting successes at age 11.
Away from the wheel he has also built an impressive and comprehensive structure in terms of an online identity that has already appealed to sponsors at local and national level.
He lists 12 commercial partners as being part of his team ranging from Ford and Castrol to local farm machinery providers Suirway in his native Waterford.
To have overcome the tragedy of losing his co-driver and have the resolve to drive at the highest level shows incredible determination in one so young.  Rallying has a strong popular appeal throughout the country and with motor manufacturers emerging from the economic recession to support a number of sporting initiatives in 2013, it is likely he will have plenty of opportunity to attract commercial sponsorship as he continues his climb up the world ladder.
Katie Taylor has shown how the nation can take a champion to its heart in a sport away from the mainstream and it may well be that Craig Breen follows a similar path into the public consciousness.
View all the latest news on the commercial side of Irish sport
Find out more about how Sport for Business can be of benefit to you
Subscribe today for the free Sport for Business daily news digest