Mārtiņš Sesks and Renārs Francis will make their debut at the wheel of the “Rally2-Kit', season plans to be announced later”>Skoda Fabia R4” car in the Sarma Rally, which in a more understandable language is Rally2-Kit class car. This another has been developed by the famous French company Oreca, which produces a set that includes the engine, transmission, main suspension components, brakes and semi – electronics. This kit can be purchased by anyone interested, where this kit must be placed in the body of the machine. Next, it all depends on the ability and skills of each team of engineers to put it all together so that in the end the car would be fast and competitive.
So far, Mārtiņš’s experience with an all-wheel drive car is not great – only a couple of starts, where in 2019 Sesks started with a “Škoda Fabia R5”.
As Ieva Hmieļevska, a representative of Mārtiņš Seska’s team, recently told, ” This season the crew will switch all-wheel drive cars and paint the maximum number of kilometers of the race. There are a number of things being agreed at the moment, so I hope to be able to make an official announcement of this season at the end of February. The multi-year program is sporting and we will be able to present it officially once the negotiations and agreements have been completed. “
After the tests in Lapland and before the upcoming Sarma rally, the Go4speed portal invited Mārtiņš Seskas to a small conversation.
What was it like to drive a snowmobile on snow and ice?
My experience with all-wheel drive cars is not great, because I had only ridden a Subaru in the winter before. But I will say that it was very cool to ride on snow and ice. The machine was very good. Before our tests on the same track in Finland, Vladas Jurkevičius is training with Uldis Briedis, and after comparing Uldis, the management with the “Skoda Fabia R4” is very good and the car is very responsive and similar to the R5.
How long have you had the tests?
The tests were two days where we worked a lot with the machine settings.
What are the main differences between the Skoda Fabia R4 and R5?
The main difference is that the power of the R4 machine is 30-40 hp lower, so R5 is faster in such accelerations. It can be said that the average R4 car is about 0.8 – 1 second per kilometer slower than the R5.
However, the Rally2 Kit was not already built to be the same as the R5.
Exactly. In essence, this machine is not designed to beat the R5. We should make sure that this Rally2 Kit is between the R5 and the Ford Fiesta Rally3. Therefore, it can be said that both us and the team will spend more on the Sarma Rally, such as obtaining and searching for information to develop this car.
How do you feel – Rally2 Kit is closer to R5 or Rally3?
I find the Rally 2 Kit to be a little closer to Rally2 (R5) than Rally3.
Is the difference between Proto and Rally2 Kit big?
Proto is a car where you can do a lot yourself, but in the case of the Rally2 Kit, you already buy the most important components from the Oreca company. Then you can assemble it all yourself and try to make the car as good as possible. Importantly, the Rally2 Kit is factory-made and homologated by the FIA, and with this car, for example, several athletes compete in the ERC Championship, while Proto can only compete in the national championship.
I saw on the website that the Rally2 Kit costs on average about 38 euros per kilometer. How many R5 cars?
R5 not less than 100 euros, but in good teams one kilometer could cost up to 120 euros.
The difference is big, especially now that you’re only taking your first steps in all-wheel drive.
Yes, while studying, I can theoretically drive 2.5 times more kilometers with the Skoda Fabia R4 than with the R5. If the main difference is only in power, then in my learning this power is not so important and decisive, because the main thing is to understand the essence of an all-wheel drive machine, driving style, etc.
A good example would be Tom Christenson. In 2020 he won the JWRC, won the R5 car, but in 2021 his results were very poor – a lot of accidents, withdrawal.
Yes, that is precisely the reason why I am trying very carefully to choose the next step after front-wheel drive. There are still riders with a similar story when they break right into R5 and the results are not good. It’s a shame to look at it, so I don’t want to be in the same situation. If you have sponsors you have to report to, but the results are not good, then it is very bad. Sorry Christenson. As far as I am talking to him, he is also morally ruined, although in reality he is a good driver.
What is your goal in the Sarma Rally?
It will not be the case that we will ride to the Sarma Rally. Let’s try to do our best and drive as fast as we can. Let’s try to do our job to everyone 100%. The result is hard to say. We will have a good starting position (eighth) and there have been winter rallies (in Sarma and Aluksne) when we have finished in fourth, fifth and seventh place with a front-wheel drive car. Because anything is possible. Even then, we had taken tests in Lapland before the rally, so now it is difficult to predict what place we can win. There are more than one question. But let’s not put the main emphasis on that. Let’s work so that we can push everything we can out of ourselves and the car, and the result will not be missed.
How much do you understand then you currently have any plan for the new season if?
We have plans and scenarios, but to talk about something, we have to understand everything ourselves. In the near future we will try different cars to understand what is the right step and in which direction to go.
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