Swedish Rally: Why did all the Fords get punctures this morning?

This is one of the most striking images that stands out from this crazy morning on the Rally from Sweden. The three Fords of Mārtiņš Sesks, Jon Armstrong, and Josh McErlean all suffered surprising punctures. From the very start of the loop, it must be said that doubt remained among M-Sport Since the three crews, along with Italian driver Lorenzo Bertelli, were the only ones to start with two spare wheels in their trunks, the risk of punctures is generally very low on the Rally Sweden. Why then penalize themselves in this way and carry extra weight? The reason became clear on the very first stage of the day, with Mārtiņš Sesks suffering two punctures, followed by Jon Armstrong. Sesks was then forced to retire after a third puncture on the next stage, although he managed to reach the service area at midday, which also claimed another victim for M-Sport in the person of Josh McErlean.

In search of performance

At M-Sport, they're pulling out all the stops to optimize every last detail that might compensate for a clear lack of performance. This morning, the British team took the risk of lowering the tire pressures of its three crews as much as possible to try and maximize the grip of its Ford Puma Rally1 cars. But this wasn't without its risks, as we saw firsthand, since only the M-Sport crews among the regular contenders in the championship experienced this kind of problem. Lorenzo Bertelli also suffered a puncture, it's true, but it's clear that the damage primarily affected the M-Sport team. The risk taken by the team was evidently too great given what's at stake, since, let's remember, M-Sport currently has not scored a single point in the Manufacturers' Championship.

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A disastrous start for M-Sport at the Rally Sweden

At Monte Carlo, M-Sport recorded one of the worst results in its history. WRCBy ending a 24-year streak in which Malcolm Wilson and Richard Millener's cars had scored points at every rally, with the triple retirement of Grégoire Munster and his Irish driver duo, the team shot itself in the foot right from the start in Umeå. Was it really necessary to take such risks this morning? It's hard to agree with them, since at the time of writing, only two of the three cars entered by the team are still in contention for the rally. Mārtiņš Sesks will of course be able to drive from tomorrow, but under the New Start scheme. He can still score points for his team this Sunday, during Super Sunday, or during the Power Stage. But Sweden is off to a very bad start for M-Sport.

What do the pilots think?

After a real ordeal, Mārtiņš Sesks finally managed to complete the last special stage of the morning before returning to service and putting his car on the ground. The Latvian driver couldn't hide his disappointment once he arrived in the Media Zone: "A very frustrating morning for me," was all he would say. His Irish teammate Josh McErlean also highlighted this strange situation: "We're still struggling to understand why all our tires had these problems." However, as mentioned above, M-Sport, apart from Lorenzo Bertelli (Toyota), the only team to send its drivers out on six wheels this morning. Did they know something at M-Sport, and were they already thinking about the risks they might encounter? "Me, I'm just a driver: I sit in the car and I drive it," Sesks said laconically to our microphone at midday. McErlean, for his part, spoke of a more strategic choice, dictated by a desire to have the best possible tires available depending on the conditions. In any case, there was some friction at the start for the British team.