Photo: Martins Sesks Rally
This has been possible since the beginning of 2024, but Rally Poland is the first time we will see a Rally1 car competing without hybrid support in the World Rally Championship. And it will be piloted by Mārtiņš Sesks/Renārs Francis, who will make their debut with top-level equipment. Let us remind you that the Polish rally is a warm-up race for Seska, because in Tet Rally Latvia he will drive a “Ford Puma Rally1”, which will have a hybrid system installed. It is known that Seska’s car in the Polish WRC will have 135 hp less than the Rally1 hybrid cars.
Ahead of the upcoming rally, M-Sport team manager Rich Millener told DirtFish what is involved in removing the hybrid system from the Ford Puma Rally1 and what difference he expects.
Although removing the battery, electric motor and all the associated electronics may seem difficult, Milener claims that for the M-Sport team it doesn’t really change the way the car works.
Photo: Martin Hlinka
“Honestly, we have very little change,” says Rich Millener. “The hybrid unit has been replaced with a ballast unit, and it won’t have the intake piping on the side of the car. Everything else you’ll see will look pretty much the same. Obviously, it’s a little bit easier because when we do maintenance, we don’t have to make sure that all the hybrid safety stuff is looked at . Honestly, it’s not a huge difference in driving.”
So what about performance? How much slower could Sesk’s car be than his hybrid rivals? “I am sure that Seska’s results will be behind the cars of Rally1, but ahead of Rally2,” Millener continues. “You know, Seska’s car will be more powerful than the Rally2 and better handling, and with better suspension, but less powerful than the Rally1 hybrid, so it should be somewhere where it’s supposed to be.”
Based on past experience with hybrid engine failures, Milener added that the loss of the hybrid engine’s auxiliary mechanism is by no means decisive, and the M-Sport boss believes that running without a hybrid in Poland will not significantly affect Seska’s performance.
Photo: Vladislav Maschl
“I think in a fast rally you use the hybrid a little less because you’re driving at higher speeds all the time, where you don’t always use the hybrid system as much. You can use it coming out of the slower corners and of course there’s a disadvantage if you have it’s not, but to be honest, I think the biggest factor in Martin’s case will be his experience with the car compared to whether he has a hybrid or not.”
Milener hopes that Seska’s start will also encourage other drivers to use a non-hybrid car. “That was also our goal – to focus and show it. And I think that hopefully at the end of Martin’s interview segment about how much he loves driving this car, maybe it will stimulate people to think: ‘I can buy one of these cars and use it in their national championship.”
What will happen in reality, we will find out during the rally, which we will report from Poland as soon as possible. Both the Go4speed portal and other Latvian supporters will go to Poland to support our crew and experience the debut of Seska/Franča with a Rally1 car!
2024-06-26 22:18:21
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