Martins Sesks says he has “zero idea” where his future lies in the World Rally Championship after impressing in three Rally1 outings this year.
The 2023 European Rally Championship runner-up has outlined his rising star status following a trio of head-turning appearances in rallying’s top tier thanks to a programme with M-Sport-Ford, partially funded by the WRC Promoter.
Sesks’ reputation as a future talent has been enhanced by finishing fifth in Poland on debut before scoring maiden stage wins in Latvia on his way to a likely third-place finish before a mechanical issue struck his Puma on the final stage.
Last weekend the 25-year-old earned a third Rally1 outing, piloting a non-hybrid powered Ford Puma, at Rally Chile, an event Sesks had never previously contested.
The rally provided a steep yet valuable learning curve after suffering a double puncture in stage two. With only one spare wheel at their disposal, Sesks and co-driver Renars Francis were forced to retire.
The pair did enjoy a clean run through Saturday and Sunday’s stages, despite a sudden rear wing failure on the penultimate stage, to log crucial Rally1 kilometres.
“I think if you had told me I would be driving a Rally1 car on three occasions this year I wouldn’t have believed you,” said Sesks.
Martins Sesks, Renars Francis, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1
Photo by: M-Sport
“Coming to South America for the first time and driving a Rally1 car has been amazing. It was really challenging the first two occasions went quite smoothly I would say from a driving perspective but this was a real challenge and there was a lot of learning.
“I think we have learned a lot for the future and now we know how to approach WRC rallies where we don’t know the roads.”
Sesks’ three outings have impressed management at M-Sport which is yet to confirm its driver line-up for next year. M-Sport’s lead driver Adrien Fourmaux is at the centre of the WRC silly season having been linked with a move away from the Ford squad to Hyundai.
When asked about his future in in the WRC, Sesks said: “I have zero idea actually. We have done this rally and I don’t know what is going to happen next. We are ready to take every opportunity. It depends how, when and what we can do in the future.”
M-Sport team principal Richard Millener, who was keen to see how Sesks would cope on unfamiliar roads, felt the rookie did a “great job” in the circumstances.
“For Martins and Renars, I guess it wasn’t quite what they had hoped for,” said Millener. “A small mistake with big consequences on Friday, and a tough last stage with no rear spoiler, but I think they still did a great job and got an insight into the experience that they need to learn to get to the top of the WRC – one of the key reasons to bring them here.”
