The Latvian crew, which starts with a “Ford Puma Rally1” vehicle, had an accident in the third stage on Friday and did not start again in the next three stages of the first day. Latvians returned to the competition circuit on Saturday and continued the rally with the aim of training.
In Sunday’s first speed stage, Sesks was tenth, in the next three he won 12th, ninth and 11th positions, respectively. The penultimate stage was completed by the Latvian crew with a broken rear fender.
“It was nice to be here, thanks to the M-Sport team and WRC for the opportunity. I hope it wasn’t the last. I would like to come back someday, it was great. We learned a lot this weekend. It was difficult but very useful for the future,” Cesk said after the finish in the rally.
Finnish pilot Kalle Rovanpere (“Toyota Gazoo”) celebrated the victory in the rally, who at the end beat his British teammate Elfin Evans by 23.4 seconds. Estonian Ots Tenak (Hyundai Shell Mobis) was another 20.5 seconds behind, while another Hyundai driver, Belgian Thierry Neville, was the fourth overall leader. Frenchman Sebastien Ogier (“Toyota Gazoo”) crashed on Saturday and did not complete the full rally either.
Seska’s crew, which drove an “M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1” car with a non-hybrid engine in Chile, finished the rally in 20th position.
The leader in the overall standings is Neville, who has accumulated 207 points and is 29 ahead of Tenak, while Ogier and Evans have 12 and 17 points less.
At the end of the season there will be stages in Germany and Japan.
At the end of June, Ceska’s crew made their WRC debut, finishing fifth in Rally Poland. In July, in the first ever WRC stage in Latvia, Sesks was seventh, losing his place on the podium only in the last stage.
Finnish racing driver Kalle Rovanpere became a two-time world champion last year, securing the title one stage before the end of the season. Latvian ex-champion Rovanpere is not competing in all WRC stages this year.
Source: www.diena.lv
