Mãrtiņš Sesks' is in a very different situation than he was 12 months ago, examines Alasdair Lindsay
Photography by M-Sport
Words by Alasdair Lindsay, Head of Digital Strategy
This is now how it was supposed to go for Mārtiņš Sesks.
One year ago he was the poster child of the World Rally Championship. Up he rocked to Rally Poland, no hybrid unit in the back of his Ford Puma Rally1, and nibbled at the heels of the rally leaders from his very first stage at the top level.
There was a first WRC stage win on his home event (in Latvia) one rally later and after spending the rally battling title contenders Sébastien Ogier and Ott Tänak for the podium places, he was robbed of the rostrum by a final-stage technical issue.
But a mark had been made. Handed a chance that even two years earlier would have seemed a pipe dream, he’d wowed the service park with his cameo – part-funded by WRC Promoter – and secured a part-season deal for 2025.
His dream is quickly unravelling. His demeanour is shifting. And understandably so.
Sesks was on top of the world last year on rallies he knew. Now he's learning to have no expectations
In Latvia his mind management was supreme. Faced with the pressure of an expectant home crowd, he quite literally blocked out all the noise – at one point even putting his fingers in his ears whenever an interviewer talked about fighting Ogier and co. – and kept cool, making jokes on the road sections. There was even time to hoover up his apartment between shakedown and the rally.
He was jovial, revelling in the opportunity rather than submitting to the pressure generated by how high-stakes those two rallies were for his career.
Sesks is now three gravel rallies into his season and all of them have a common thread: they unravelled on stage two. In Portugal, it was a puncture. In Sardinia, it was a high-speed roll. And in Acropolis, another puncture.
He is losing that sense of control over his destiny that he had last year.
“I don’t expect anything to be much easier than it was so far this year,” Sesks told DirtFish at the finish of the Acropolis. “As the year has gone by, I don’t have any expectations anymore.”
Sesks' best finish this year was sixth at Rally Sweden
On the mic at the finish was my colleague Colin Clark. He asked the question any good journalist in that situation would. Estonia and Finland – two rallies with similar DNA to Latvia and Poland in that they’re focused on fast gravel roads – were next; an opportunity to go back to something more familiar and get a result. But did that come with additional pressure to deliver?
He gave the question short shrift.
“Colin, I’ve just finished a rally 15 minutes ago,” said Sesks, “and you’re already asking me if I feel pressure for the next one.
“We’ll worry about it in a few days.”
Worry is a telling word. Estonia should be an enjoyable return to familiar roads: he’s done the event four times in the past and has plenty of mileage on other events in the Baltic nation.
Estonia will be about two things: get to the end of stage two in one piece and then, after that, start enjoying the sensation of downforce the Rally1 cars produce when you’re fully committed through the fast, sweeping corners the next two events offer up in spades.
I wrote in the Acropolis feature report earlier this week that a running theme of the event was mentality. Sesks had that sorted last year. His head was in the right place, which allowed his arms and feet to work their magic aboard the Puma.
Will a switch back to fast rallies improve Sesks' fortunes?
In the mad rush of a rally-ending media zone, it can be easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of emotion and reactivity. He’s had those few days to put Greece behind him and look at Estonia now. Getting back into the groove with the Puma on fast, smooth gravel is one element. The bigger one might be to rediscover the Mārtiņš Sesks we knew a year ago. He’s still in there somewhere trying to get out.
Mārtiņš, no-one wants you to fail. There is no stage two curse. And remember: Adrien Fourmaux just went through six months of seemingly non-stop dramas and still found a way to get his season back on track. Now it’s your turn.
It’s like 2024 again. You have it all to prove. But this time you’re armed with the knowledge you’ve already done it once before. That Mārtiņš we saw in the Acropolis media zone last Sunday was not you, and we know it.
I think we’re all looking forward to seeing 2024-spec Mārtiņš in Estonia.
Words:Alasdair Lindsay
Tags: Acropolis Rally Greece, Acropolis Rally Greece 2025, Mārtinš Sesks, WRC, WRC 2025
Publish Date July 4, 2025 DirtFish 
https://dirtfish-editorial.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/2025/07/b3rd5xhl-WRC_GRE_25_ATMOSPHERE_2160-780x520.jpg July 4, 2025
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