The Latvian driver gets to race in front of his home crowd this weekend, and on top of that, with a more powerful car.
Sesks debuted in the top class at the Rally Poland in June, but his car was missing a hybrid unit at the time.
Now there is one in his Ford Puma. Thanks to it, Sesks can get more power out of the car. Now the Latvian is on the same level as all the Rally1 drivers. Somewhat surprisingly, the Latvian did not see the situation as entirely positive.
“Of course, it’s nice to get more torque and power in the car,” Sesks began.
“But the hybrid unit works based on how you brake and how you regenerate energy. For me, it’s not very easy, as I have to constantly think about using it. It’s much easier to just drive flatout all the time,” Sesks explained.
Sesks feels that he doesn’t get the same benefit from the hybrid as the more experienced Rally1 drivers.
“I lose a bit of an advantage because I have to sacrifice more thoughts on how to use it. So, I’d say we’re quite even in that regard,” Sesks pondered.
This weekend, Sesks will have the support of his home crowd, which has its pros and cons.
“Driving in front of the home crowd is a huge deal. But it also brings added pressure. I’m a big and closely followed name here,” Sesks reminded.
Sesks performed brilliantly in Poland and surprised everyone. Now the situation is different.
“In Poland, the result came perhaps more easily. Now everyone expects something from me. However, we still have very low expectations. We have three world champions here this weekend, so we’ll see where we are at the end of the rally,” Sesks planned.
Sesks delighted the home crowd immediately in the Thursday evening spectator stage. He was the fourth fastest, losing only 2.9 seconds to Kalle Rovanperä’s top time. This promises another good weekend for the Latvian.
