Inglorious end for a champion warrior

The incredible career of the World Rally Championship’s most successful car (DS3 WRC chassis 317, registration number BN-404-MV) ended ignominiously on Wales Rally GB.

The WRC's most successful car crashed out of Rally GB with Craig Breen at the wheel.Irishman Craig Breen rolled off the road on the second pass of the celebrated Myherin stage on what was the team’s final planned appearance of the car in the WRC for the PH Sport team, which this year have been running Citroen’s cars in the WRC.  

The Abu Dhabi Total WRT team sadly announced: “Unfortunately, the car was too badly damaged and so Craig has therefore had to retire from the rally altogether."  

Since its debut at Monte Carlo in 2012, this car started 31 WRC events, won 12 (far more than any other car - nine times with Loeb, twice with Meeke and once with Sordo).

It only retired four times, always after an accident (Loeb France 2013, Meeke Germany and Mexico 2014, and now Breen GB 2016), never for mechanical reasons, and it is reported to have won 80 stages in the WRC.  

Hopefully Citroen will buy the car back from PH Sport, repair it (once again!) and place it prominently in a museum
 
- Martin Holmes

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