Spanish driver Nils Solans was crowned the winner of the Portuguese ERC rally on Sunday. The seventh place in the ERC Open class was won by Mārtiņš Sesks / Renārs Francis, who started this rally with a “Škoda Fabia Rally2-Kit” car, which is slower than R5 (about 30 hp).
The weekend in Portugal was rainy and the muddy track was a lot of challenges. As Sesks admitted, the pavement was very variable and at times an effort had to be made to stay on the road at all. ” The final stage was not just slippery, it was a real mud jelly. Coverage changed every moment. It was raining unevenly, so it was hard to guess what grip would be in the next turn. At first there was no grip at all. Along the way I saw a lot of places where previous crews had run off the road. We drove at a relatively safe speed and survived, ” described the final of the race Mārtiņš Sesks.
Photo: FIA ERC
This is the first season when Sesks has switched from front-wheel drive to all-wheel drive. The pilot revealed that already after the 2020 season he was looking towards the all-wheel drive class. “The idea to switch to an all-wheel drive car was already after the 2020 season, when we were [Junior WRC] vice-champions. There was a dilemma of what to do, but at the time there was no class like Rally2 Kit or even Rally3and there was no real choice in what to do. “
“As the 2022 season approaches, we had some offers to drive a Rally2 car in both [ERČ un WRC] championships, but as you know, it all depends on finances. The ERC Open seemed the most logical step, as the car is faster than the Rally3, but still quite close to the Rally2, and much cheaper (about twice). Why run one rally with Rally2 when we can run two rallies with this Rally2 Kit? It was an easy choice for these rallies. “
The 22 – year – old athlete was immediately surprised by Proracing Rally “Škoda Fabia Rally2-Kit” car prepared by the team, with which Mārtiņš showed the fastest time in his class in 14 stages out of 15.
It is known that Sesks will soon take part in the second stage of the ERC, which will take place in the Azores at the end of March. No agreement has yet been reached on further starts. “We realized that the car is working well, and maybe this lack of horsepower is not the main thing in these rallies. Nobody really knew what this car is capable of, but that’s why we are here, showing results and trying as hard as we can. “It would be foolish not to start the Azores Rally. We have an agreement with the team on these two rallies, and we will see what we do next in the Azores.”
Rally results:
