FIA World Rally Championship driver Mārtiņš Sesks, together with co-driver Renārs Francis, will return to the FIA European Rally Championship (ERC) this month to compete in the Royal Rally of Scandinavia in Sweden from 22 to 24 May. Following a ninth-place finish at last weekend’s FIA World Rally Championship round in Portugal, the Latvian crew will represent MRF Tyres in Sweden, competing in a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 prepared by Sports Racing Technologies.
For the Swedish ERC round, the crew will also unveil a fresh car livery. The new design features bold red accents highlighting the team’s affiliation with MRF Tyres, while also giving strong visual prominence to Latvian manufacturer CEWOOD, the main driving force behind the crew’s ERC campaign this season.
Ingars Ūdris, Member of the Management Board at CEWOOD: “Rally is a sport that demands courage, character and huge ambition, values we equally appreciate in business. For us, it is essential to support individuals who, through their work, charisma, and achievements, can carry Latvia’s name onto the international stage and inspire others to think bigger, aim higher, and not be afraid of challenges. Through their popularity and personality, athletes become role models for the younger generation, and we are proud to be part of this journey. We share a common goal: to significantly increase international visibility, both for Latvia as a whole and for each of us individually.”
“This will be a different but a good challenge. We’ve competed in Sweden twice before. It’s an interesting rally and one we’re really looking forward to,” says Mārtiņš Sesks ahead of the event.
The Swedish ERC round is familiar territory for the Sesks/Francis crew. In previous years, the Liepāja-based pairing has delivered competitive performances here, securing a third-place finish in 2023 with Škoda machinery and finishing sixth overall last year in a Toyota.
Speaking about the upcoming rally and continued collaboration with the team, Sesks highlights the value of existing partnerships: “So far, our cooperation with Škoda and MRF Tyres has worked really well, so we expect something similar this time too. I won’t hide it, we’d also like to give the fans some good emotions and recapture some of the buzz and enjoyment we experienced last year at the ERC round in Poland.”
Participation in the Swedish ERC round forms part of Sesks and Francis’ 2026 international programme, which alongside their World Rally Championship commitments also includes selected ERC appearances, allowing the crew to continue building experience on different surfaces and maintain competitive rhythm between WRC events.
The Royal Rally of Scandinavia takes place from 22 to 24 May, while Sesks’ next WRC outing is scheduled for late June, when the crew returns to the Ford Puma Rally1 for the legendary Acropolis Rally Greece.
Follow the crew: X: @MSesks Facebook: @MartinsSesksRallying Instagram: @martins_sesks www.martinssesks.com