Martins Sesks keeps cool head ahead of Sweden: "There is less pressure on us in the long term"

It is a welcome return to WRC : after his first three rather impressive stints in 2024, Martins Sesks returns this season with six rounds scheduled for the moment, still with M-Sport. The first of these is the Rally Sweden (February 13-16), where the Latvian will return to the wheel of the Ford Puma Rally1. The 25-year-old hopeful will once again be accompanied by his co-driver and compatriot Renars Francis to begin his half-season in the premier category.

A partial program that will allow him to continue learning at the highest level of world rallying but above all, to express his talent against the references of the category. « I am very happy to be back in Rally1 with M-Sport and I am grateful to have the opportunity to do half the season with them this year, which gives us more chance to show our pace and maturity in the car. ", confides Martins Sesks ahead of the Rally Sweden.

Sesks no stranger to snow driving

The Latvian will be closely followed throughout this Scandinavian weekend, having been one of the sensations of the 2024 WRC season. Last year, after a surprising 5th place in Rally Poland, he came very close to a first WRC podium in his home event, Rally Latvia, but a mechanical problem in the last special stage relegated him to 7th place. In Chile, he had to retire in the 3rd special stage due to punctures.

In Sweden, Martins Sesks will be in the spotlight and will have to show that his strong performances in 2024 were not only due to his knowledge of the terrain in Poland and Latvia. While he will be contesting his first Rally Sweden in the premier class, the M-Sport driver is no stranger to driving on snow. In 2020, he finished 2nd in the Junior WRC event – ​​ahead of a certain Sami Pajari – and he has already contested (and won) several snow rallies in the Latvian Rally Championship.

“This will be our first rally of the season, and our first rally on snow driving a Rally1. It will be a good experience and a good learning curve, that’s for sure, believes Martins Sesks, who wants to start this first rally of the year without the pressure of the result or his future in the premier class. As we are only doing half the season, there is less pressure on us in the long term and we can see rally by rally how we feel and what our pace will be. I am excited to be driving on snow, I really enjoy driving in these conditions, using the snow banks around the roads. It should be a fun weekend and I am really looking forward to it.” Martins Sesks will certainly have the ambition to do better than the regular drivers at M-Sport, Grégoire Munster and especially Josh McErlean, and why not, show that he has the potential to obtain a seat in the long term.

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