Gregoire Munster and Josh McErlean, who have contested all rounds this year with the Ford Puma Rally1, will of course line up again. In the Middle East, they will be joined by Latvia’s Martins Sesks and Qatar’s desert rally specialist Nasser Al-Attiyah.
Sesks is already familiar with the Ford Puma. He made his top-class WRC debut with M-Sport last season, and this year he has driven a six-rally programme with the team. In the end, he managed to secure the funding to compete in the final round of the season.
“I think it’s nice to have one final chance of the year with him. He’s worked hard, and this was always a potential to have a last rally. And he’s managed to do that, which is great. He has some backing from another new sponsor in Latvia, which goes to show the potential that they believe in him, which is nice,” M-Sport team principal Richard Millener told RallyJournal.com.
Saudi Arabia has never before hosted a WRC event, meaning Sesks and Al-Attiyah will start on equal footing against the series’ top names. However, they will still be at a disadvantage in terms of overall experience.
Both drivers face one major problem: they cannot test the car properly in rally conditions before the event.
“Martins has been out of the car now for four months. We can’t test. So best case scenario is a couple of roll-outs at M-Sport on tarmac, but we’ll do that with him,” Millener said.
“It’s nice to get him there in this new event and alongside him, Nasser as well. That was a late agreement with Nasser. He’s got the most experience you could ever ask for those kinds of conditions but hasn’t driven the car and can’t do a test. So, again, a lot to learn there,” Millener added.
Sesks faces huge stakes in Saudi Arabia. He is effectively driving for his future, aiming to secure a full-season seat in the World Rally Championship next year.
“Of course, the goal of getting this last event was to show and prove a final point as to why we should consider him again next year. So that’s exactly the reason he’s going and we’ll make a decision based around that, really,” Millener revealed.
“We’re working hard to see what we can do and who’s available for next year. Our choices are limited. And we don’t hide that we need budget to help run the team. So we’ll keep working on that, but there is no intention to stop,” the team boss underlined.
The Saudi Arabia Rally will close the 2025 World Rally Championship season at the end of November.
