ERC
Sesks holds narrow ERC Poland advantage
Mārtiṇš Sesks has completed the opening loop of ORLEN OIL 81st Rally Poland at the head of the order following an action-packed start to round four of the FIA European Rally Championship.
On his comeback to the ERC and on a rally he won in 2023, Sesks completed the day-opening Świętajno stage quickest by 9.1sec to snatch top spot from overnight leader and home hero Miko Marczyk.
But a mistake on SS3 left the Latvian off the road and with no front bumper on his MRF-equipped Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, which resulted in his lead over Roope Korhonen being trimmed to 1.5sec.
“I am still not perfect on the braking,” Sesks said of his SS3 delay. “I was on the brakes and sometimes I’m too harsh on the pedal. I was a bit too optimistic I just need to work on my braking.
There were no such problems on SS4, which Sesks completed 1.0sec faster than Marczyk to lead Korhonen by 5.6sec after four stages with double Polish champion Marczyk in third, 8.6sec adrift of first place in his Michelin-shod Škoda.
“Actually, we didn’t know we lost the front bumper, and I didn’t know if it is there still, but we made some protection for the radiator,” Sesks said. “It has to be some aero effect as the car was moving a bit on the straights. It was fine, we took this one steady. So far so good.”
After going fastest on SS3 aboard his MRF-supplied Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, ERC points leader Korhonen dropped time on SS4.
“This was really difficult,” the Finn explained. “We struggled a lot with pacenotes and we hit a bank quite heavy so I thought it was a puncture but luckily not.”
Marczyk said: “It is a demanding stage with the pacenotes and the feeling of the corners. Normally we improve our driving a lot compared to our last run in 2019 but still it was possible to get another four or five seconds. But okay we are at the end of the loop.”
Hankook-equipped Rally Poland newcomer Isak Reiersen is fourth with Mads Østberg in fifth alongside new stand-in co-driver Giovanni Bernacchini. Jon Armstrong completes the top six driving a Ford Fiesta Rally2 on Pirelli tyres. Andrea Mabellini, Simone Tempestini, Mille Johansson and Jakub Matulka round out the top 10.
Philip Allen reported a fuel pump issue on SS2, while Martin László stopped to change a damaged tyre on the day’s opening test, which Stéphane Lefebvre completed out of order following damage to the front-right wheel of his Toyota GR Yaris Rally2.
Triple Polish champion Grzegorz Grzyb rolled on a right-hand junction 9.4 kilometres from the start of SS2. Despite landing his Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 on its wheels and continuing with minimal delay after he pulled off an incredible save, Grzyb retired with damage following the run. Meanwhile, Jarosław Koltun needed people power to get him back on the road after he went off into a ditch during SS2.
Tymek Abramowski set the FIA ERC3 pace on SS2 aboard his Pirelli-shod Ford Fiesta Rally3 to move into the Rally3 category lead ahead of newcomer Adam Sroka. However, a stage win for Ville Vatanen on SS3 leaves the Renault Clio Rally3-driving Finn 3.9sec behind Abramowski heading to SS4.
Abramowski (Ford Fiesta Rally3) ended the Saturday morning loop with an 11.3s lead over Finland’s Vatanen, while Tristan Charpentier held third, 20.4s adrift.
Calle Carlberg (Opel Corsa Rally4) ended the morning as the fastest Hankook-supplied Junior ERC driver. Carlberg opened up a 25.0s lead over Jaspar Vaher (Lancia Ypsilon Rally4).
Following a 30-minute service halt in Mikołajki, ORLEN OIL 81st Rally Poland resumes with the second pass of Świętajno from 15:30 local time. Leg one concludes at 19:00 when the Mikołajki Arena super special is run for the second time.
