Sesks finished Saturday in fifth place, beating the WRC series leader, Hyundai driver Thierry Neuville, by 0.1 seconds. Sesks’ performance in a Ford is impressive, as the 24-year-old Latvian does not have a hybrid unit in his Rally1 car in Poland.
“That wasn’t our initial plan. But it seems the team is happy that we did a great job today. So that’s the most important thing for us,” Sesks exclaimed.
In a rally like Poland, the absence of a hybrid unit doesn’t matter as much as it does in a slow gravel rally like Sardinia. In Poland, the rally is driven full throttle, and there are not many slow sections.
“We haven’t compared really precisely. But of course, it is from the start. And then from these slow junctions as well, we have quite many of them in the rally and then some slow corners. I don’t know. We are still enjoying it without the hybrid. And it’s a great pleasure to drive,” Sesks stated.
“We are still learning because in some places I’m too careful. Then I have these small moments and I’m just trying to find the right rhythm.”
On Sunday, four more special stages will be driven in Poland. For Sesks, the most important thing is to finish them all. The position is not that crucial.
“I think we still have an exciting day tomorrow to finish Rally Poland. For the moment, that’s our goal, to drive these four beautiful stages tomorrow,” Sesks said.
“We have done one stage in the opposite direction, and we have done one in the same direction as well. They seem to be really fast, but there are some really narrow sections and, like in Poland, you have very narrow trees next to you, and you have to be very, very precise. Sometimes it feels like you can drive flat out there, but you really cannot. It will be interesting.”
