ERC
Sesks marks ERC return with commanding Poland victory
Mārtiṇš Sesks produced an impressive drive on his return to the FIA European Rally Championship to claim a commanding ORLEN OIL 81st Rally Poland victory.
Sesks was rarely challenged on Poland’s fast gravel stages, posting nine fastest times from the 14 tests to claim a second career ERC Rally Poland victory following his triumph in 2023. The win was the Latvian’s fourth at ERC level.
Sesks and co-driver Renars Francis guided their SRT prepared MRF-equipped Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 to victory by 1minute06.3sec from home hero and ERC title contender Miko Marczyk, with M-Sport-Ford World Rally Team’s Jon Armstrong, third, 1minute15.8sec adrift.
"As I said it's always great to be back in Poland and to be back in red,” said Sesks.
Sesks made his first ERC appearance since Rally Estonia last July, having made the step up to the World Rally Championship, where he is currently embarking on a six-round part-time campaign with M-Sport-Ford.
This weekend the 2023 ERC title runner-up proved to be the class of the field on gravel. After finishing Friday night’s Mikołajki Arena super special, third fastest behind Marczyk, the Latvian quickly surged to the rally lead on Saturday’s morning’s first stage, where he was 9.1sec faster than nearest rival Roope Korhonen.
Sesks survived a scare in stage three when he misjudged a braking point, resulting in a brush with the bushes, but managed to hold onto the lead, albeit reduced to 1.5sec over Korhonen. Sesks quickly rebuilt his advantage after rattling off five stage wins from a possible seven, to end Saturday with a 21.4sec lead.
Sesks was fortunate not to lose time to a brief off-road excursion through a farmer’s field in stage nine on Sunday morning, before normal service was resumed.
Marczyk moved to the top of the ERC standings
© ERC
Nearest rival and championship leader Korhonen rolled out of second position on the next test. Korhonen and co-driver Anssi Viinikka were uninjured in the crash. Korhonen’s exit further eased the pressure on Sesks, who went on to add four more stage wins, including a stunning Power Stage triumph, on his way to victory.
Fan favourite Marczyk, who led the rally on Friday night, spent the majority of Saturday sitting in third, but inherited second following Korhonen’s demise. Marcyzk had to deal with increasing pressure coming from Armstrong in the fight for second as the gap between the pair closed to 6.1s after Armstrong won stage 10.
Marczyk was able to respond with his cause further helped when the Pirelli-shod Armstrong was issued a 10sec penalty for destroying a chicane in stage 12. The Polish driver, piloting a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 on Michelin tyres, held his nerve to score his best ERC result since winning Rally Poland in 2022. Marczyk did miss out on adding any extra Power Stage points to his tally.
Back-to-back ERC podiums, after finishing third in Sweden last month, means Marczyk has moved to the top of the championship standings with a 16-point lead over Mads Østberg.
"It's good, unfortunately we didn't manage to keep the balance between the risk level and fighting for the power stage points. I am really happy to be in second place in Rally Poland. This weekend was good for us, now we should be the same on the tarmac,” said Marczyk.
Jon Armstrong netted his first podium of the season
© ERC
Armstrong claimed a first podium of the season and on gravel, in what proved to be a strong outing behind the wheel of the M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally2. Armstrong started Saturday in ninth position but a series of strong stage times vaulted him up to fourth before moving to third on Sunday.
"My first podium overall on gravel. Great weekend, [co-driver] Shane [Byrne] and the team did a great job. It's been a bit of a bleak year so far in terms of results, so really happy for this,” said Armstrong.
Isak Reiersen continued his impressive form after finishing third at last month’s BAUHAUS Royal Rally of Scandinavia. The Swede, driving a Hankook equipped, Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, finished fourth. Østberg fought back from a turbo issue that plagued his Saturday to finish fifth, ahead of Simone Tempestini.
Mille Johansson battled set up issues to finish seventh while title contender Andrea Mabellini had to settle for eighth after a difficult weekend where he was unable to find consistent speed.
The top 10 was completed by Poland’s Jakub Matulka and Krzysztof Bubik. Max McRae was denied a top 10 finish when his left front tyre came off the rim of his Citroen C3 Rally2, that was without the use of a handbrake, in the final stage.
András Hadik claimed the Master ERC title after Jos Verstappen suffered an impact on the Power Stage that damaged his Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, forcing the ex-Formula 1 driver to retire.
Tymek Abramowski (Ford Fiesta Rally3) won the ERC3 class, with a 17.1sec margin over the Renault Clio Rally3 driven by Ville Vatanen. Tristan Charpentier completed the podium 4.3sec behind Vatanen.
In Junior ERC, Calle Carlberg (Opel Corsa Rally4) topped the class by 2minutes23.1sec from Iaon Lloyd (Peugeot 208 Rally4), after Jaspar Vaher (Lancia Ypsilon Rally4), who was sitting second, stopped in stage 12. Mark-Egert Tiits (Ford Fiesta Rally4) claimed the final podium spot.
The ERC returns to asphalt for round five with a visit to Italy for Rally di Roma Capitale from 4-6 July.
