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Ireland’s Craig Breen finishes fifth in Monte Carlo rally

Frenchman Sebastien Ogier wins the opening round of the 2017 World championship

Ireland’s Craig Breen during the WRC Montecarlo. Photograph: Massimo Bettiol/Getty Images

Sun Jan 22 2017 - 17:04

Irish driver Craig Breen has finished fifth in the Monte Carlo rally, the opening round of the 2017 World championship.

Breen and his co-driver Scott Martin dropped one place in Saturday’s final leg - but the Waterford man was the leading Citroen driver in the event despite being the only leading contender in the race in a 2016 car.

The 26-year-old is the first Irishman to start a World Rally Championship event as a driver with a works team.

Citroen team leader, and fellow Irishman Kris Meeke was forced to retire after a crash on Saturday night.

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Frenchman Sebastien Ogier won the rally on his M-Sport debut, holding on to the lead on Sunday after rival Thierry Neuville had suffered a mechanical problem on the penultimate day.

Four-times world champion Ogier beat Jari-Matti Latvala by two minutes and 15 seconds as the Finn handed Toyota a podium finish for their return to WRC after a 17-year absence.

M-Sport were denied a one-two finish after Estonian Ott Tanak slipped from second after suffering an engine problem on Sunday. Tanak finished third, 2:57.8 off the pace.

Ogier took control on Saturday after Belgian Neuville surrendered the lead following a rear suspension problem in the final stage of the day.

The second leg of the world championship in Sweden will be held from February 9-12th.

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