Sesks immediately made an impact on Friday morning’s opening stage, where he surged into second place in the competition. The Latvian hopeful continued his strong performance on the last stage of the loop, setting the fourth-fastest time.
Sesks remains second overall, just 7.4 seconds behind the leader. The value of Sesks’s performance is further heightened by the fact that his Ford Puma Rally1 car does not have a hybrid unit like the other cars in the class.
“It has been quite hectic. The first one was OK. This one was also okay, we had some things in the car which didn’t work on our side,” Sesks said.
“We are both learning, and it’s still amazing to drive,” the Latvian enthused.
Hyundai’s Andreas Mikkelsen set the fastest time on the last stage of the loop as well. The Norwegian has taken full advantage of his good starting position and holds the top spot after four special stages.
“We had a good stage, trying to do the best I can. The car is really nice to drive,” Mikkelsen remarked.
Toyota’s Elfyn Evans moved up to second overall, ahead of his teammate Kalle Rovanperä. Rovanperä is 14.2 seconds off the lead and has two Ford drivers, Adrien Fourmaux and Gregoire Munster, close behind him.
“It’s quite funny, last night I was watching video from this one and I fell asleep on top of the laptop. Preparation is not so easy. With this road position we should be like ten seconds faster, at least,” chuckled Rovanperä, who was 6.3 seconds slower than Mikkelsen’s best time.
Championship leader Thierry Neuville has struggled with his first road position on Friday’s stages. The Belgian is seventh in the competition, half a minute off the lead. Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta is just behind Neuville in eighth place.
WRC2 is led by Finnish driver Sami Pajari, who is ninth overall.
Rally Poland features four more special stages on Friday. The competition concludes on Sunday.
Rally Poland Standings after SS4/19:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Andreas Mikkelsen | Hyundai | 30:03.2 |
| 2. | Martins Sesks | Ford | +7.4 |
| 3. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +11.9 |
| 4. | Kalle Rovanperä | Toyota | +14.2 |
| 5. | Adrien Fourmaux | Ford | +15.1 |
| 6. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +15.9 |
| 7. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | +32.2 |
| 8. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +38.0 |
| 9. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +1:17.3 |
| 10. | Kajetan Kajetanowicz | Skoda | +1:22.0 |
| 11. | Nikolay Gryazin | Citroen | +1:28.6 |
| 12. | Joshua McErlean | Skoda | +1:30.7 |
Rally Poland Itinerary (CET):
Thursday 27.6. 10:01 Shakedown: Lubiewo (5.10 km) 19:05 SS1: Mikołajki Arena 1 (2.50 km) Friday 28.6. 08:45 SS2: Stańczyki 1 (29.40 km) 10:20 SS3: Wieliczki 1 (12.90 km) *CANCELLED 11:10 SS4: Olecko 1 (13.20 km) 14:05 SS5: Stańczyki 2 (29.40 km) 15:40 SS6: Wieliczki 2 (12.90 km) 16:30 SS7: Olecko 2 (13.20 km) 19:00 SS8: Mikołajki Arena 2 (2.50 km) Saturday 29.6. 08:30 SS9: Świętajno 1 (18.50 km) 09:45 SS10: Gołdap 1 (19.90 km) 10:35 SS11: Czarne 1 (22.40 km) 13:25 SS12: Mikołajki Arena 3 (2.50 km) 16:00 SS13: Świętajno 2 (18.50 km) 17:15 SS14: Gołdap 2 (19.90 km) 18:05 SS15: Czarne 2 (22.40 km) Sunday 30.6. 09:00 SS16: Gmina Mrągowo 1 (20.80 km) 10:05 SS17: Mikołajki 1 (10.73 km) 12:20 SS18: Gmina Mrągowo 2 (20.80 km) 14:15 SS19: Mikołajki 2 (10.73 km) *Power Stage
