The Foundation — Why We Exist

Craig always backed grassroots rallying. We’re here to finish that work: funding opportunity, coaching and seat time for young Irish talent. Current flagship: multi-year support for the Irish J1000 Forestry Series (ages 14–17), including a prize fund and elite coaching.

Get Involved → Donate, sponsor a prize, or mentor a driver.

Launched in 2023, the Craig Breen Foundation is aimed with honouring the legacy of Craig by continuing his commitment to help develop the future stars of Irish Rallying by assisting them right at the infancy of their careers.

The idea of the foundation stems from a Funding Package announced by Craig in early 2023 bourne out of an invite to attend a Junior 1000 Driver Tuition Day in Tynagh as a Guest Speaker and Driver Coach, but for Craig it lit a spark to do and give more to the next generation of Rally Drivers.

The Tuition Day was an opportunity for Junior 1000 drivers to receive direct driver training from not only Craig, but professional driver coaches and members of the MI Rally Academy. Craig offered the young drivers in attendance guidance on their progression in the sport as well as how to improve their event preparation.

Speaking at the announcement of the Funding Package at the time, Craig said “I’m delighted to be getting involved in supporting what is a remarkable Grassroots series, a unique opportunity we afford to these drivers to compete and learn in the sport from an a really early age”.

He continued “This sport has given me a remarkable amount, and now is the time for me to give back to the next generation of youngsters aiming to make a mark in Rallying. These drivers are the future, and I’m delighted to be able to help them on the initial steps on the journey”

Those initial steps would be competing in the Junior 1000 Series as part of the Irish Forest Rally Championship, an incredible feeder series that has blossomed in recent years to become one of the largest battles in Irish Motorsport.

Introduced in 2017, Junior 1000 is a Rally Class which see’s drivers from the ages of 14-18 compete on full length Gravel Rallies in one litre machines built to a set of technical regulations set out by Motorsport Ireland aimed at creating a fair and equal playing field for drivers to compete whilst developing their skills and car control.

While those competing are still often years away from being allowed to drive a car on the public road, meaning an experienced navigator is required to handle the road sections between stages, they are given the opportunity to cover full rally distances in a competitive environment, unlike any other series in World Rallying for those of their age.

The very first J1000 event attracted two entries on the 2017 Carrick-on-Suir Willie Loughman Forest Rally, but now events regularly attract over thirty crews making it the single biggest class battle in Irish Rallying.

Having seen the vision that Craig started to financially support these young drivers, the Craig Breen Foundation, with the support of its Partners, sought to continue his commitment to developing the next stars of the sport in Ireland by launching an enhanced Funding Package to benefit every competitor, as well as a host of development opportunities for those at the top of the standings.

Since its inception in 2024, the Craig Breen Foundation has provided on-event vouchers and funding to competitors as well as branded Jackets for all.

With the support of Hyundai Motorsport and Sports&You, the team with which Craig had competed for a number of times and begun a Portuguese Championship campaign with in 2023 alongside his WRC Program, the winner of the Junior 1000 Series now gets the opportunity to travel to Portugal and become a part of the Hyundai Portugal team for a weekend as well as either compete in or test (depending on age) a Hyundai i20 Cup Car under the supervision of the teams star drivers.

With the support of the Foundation, the top two from the standings will also travel to Norway to receive driver tuition as part of the John Haugland Winter Rally School. Based on a frozen lake to the west of Geilo in the Norwegian arctic wilderness, countless stars of World Rallying have travelled to this hallowed ground to receive driver tuition from John Haugland himself, and Craig Breen was a regular visitor through the year. The J1000 stars can add their name to the visitor book crammed full of the finest rallying talent.

As well as additional prize funding, the two leading drivers will also receive a Pacenote Development Workshop hosted by Paul Nagle. Having guided Craig to six WRC podiums, the 2012 SWRC title, the 2019 Irish Tarmac title as well as countless other event wins as part of a career that also saw the Killarney native clock up 5 WRC event wins, the knowledge that these youngsters can gain from such an experience is priceless as many begin to progress beyond J1000 and into R2 and Rally4 cars as part of their development.

With the support of Hyundai Motorsport, Sports & You, Hyundai Portugal, Hyundai Spain and Motorsport Ireland, the foundation has committed to support the J1000 Championship for a minimum 5-year period from 2024 onwards.

The foundation initially began by offering a total prize fund valued at over €35,000 for the 2024 Irish Forest Rally Championship J1000’s. This included:

• Prizes to the value of €1,000 per round for each round of the Championship
• €16,000 in support toward 2025 rally events for the top 3 placed drivers in the Championship (€5,000 to the winner and €3,000 each to the second and third placed drivers)
• A funded drive on a round of the 2024 or 2025 Spanish/Portuguese Hyundai i20 Cup with the Sports & You team for the Championship winner (age dependant)
• 1 day rally tuition at John Haughland Winter Rally School shared between first and second place drivers in the Championship
• 1 days pacenote tuition from Paul Nagle for the top 2 placed drivers in the Championship.

If you would like to support the work of the Craig Breen Foundation, please reach out directly.

How Your Support Helps

Every purchase and donation directly fuels entry fees, testing mileage, coaching days and the funded-drive pathway above — the tangible things that turn potential into results.

Shop

Official Craig Breen Foundation merchandise — designed for everyday wear in the service park or grandstand. All proceeds support youth development.
Featured items currently include 2-Layer Softshell, Bodywarmer, Baseball Cap and accessories.

Where does the money go? Directly to the J1000 programme and associated training initiatives.

Is this official? Yes — the store is operated by the Craig Breen Foundation.