Neuville scored Hyundai’s first WRC win of 2023 after coming through challenging wet conditions to lead a 1-2 for the South Korean marque, with Esapekka Lappi finishing 33.0s behind.
It was the first victory for the team since the tragic loss of Breen to a testing crash in April, leading Neuville and team principal Cyril Abiteboul to pay tribute to the Irishman in the victory celebrations.
"Its has been a while but it has been not that long either [since the last win in Japan last year]," Neuville told Autosport.
“We missed a great opportunity in Croatia and we could have had a victory already, but it is what it is.
“We have got a lot of podiums in total for the whole team, just no victory, and now we get a 1-2 which is a great result.
“I’m sure our common friend [Craig] was watching on and was with us this weekend.
“Craig [Breen] is in our memories - we wanted the win in Croatia, but we got it now.
When asked about the victory amid the emotion of the past few months, Abiteboul added: “A result like this one is a multiplication of small contributions from everyone.
“Thierry and Esapekka have contributed to the result, but Craig has been with us in our minds and in ours spirits and he is still very much a part of the team.
Source: Autosport