Mārtiņš Sesks has taken a dominant victory at Rally Poland, round 4 of the 2025 ERC season.
Back on ERC duty for the first time since Rally Estonia last July, the 2023 title runner-up was rarely challenged across Poland’s fast gravel stages. He posted nine fastest times from the 14 tests to take a second career Rally Poland win – following his 2023 triumph – and a fourth ERC victory overall.
Sesks and co-driver Renars Francis steered their SRT-run, MRF-shod Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 to a commanding 1min 06.3sec win over local hero and title contender Miko Marczyk. M-Sport Ford World Rally Team’s Jon Armstrong completed the podium, 1min 15.8sec behind the Latvian.
“As I said, it’s always great to be back in Poland – and to be back in red,” said a smiling Sesks.
Currently contesting a part-time six-round WRC campaign with M-Sport Ford, Sesks returned to the ERC this weekend and proved to be the class of the field on gravel. After going third fastest on Friday night’s Mikołajki Arena super special – behind Marczyk – he surged into the lead on Saturday morning’s opener, going 9.1sec quicker than nearest rival Roope Korhonen.
A scare followed in SS3 when Sesks misjudged a braking point and brushed the bushes, cutting his advantage to just 1.5sec. But he quickly rebuilt the gap, clocking five stage wins from seven to end Saturday 21.4sec clear.
Despite briefly going off through a farmer’s field in SS9, Sesks escaped unscathed. His lead was further solidified when Korhonen, his closest challenger and current championship leader, rolled out of second place on SS10. Both he and co-driver Anssi Viinikka were unharmed.
From there, Sesks added four more stage wins – including a stunning Power Stage victory – to wrap up a commanding win.
Marczyk secures important podium to take ERC championship lead
Fan favourite Marczyk, who led the rally overnight on Friday, spent most of Saturday in third but inherited second after Korhonen’s retirement. He had to fend off growing pressure from Armstrong, especially after the Briton won SS10 and closed the gap to just 6.1sec.
But Marczyk responded well. His cause was helped further when Armstrong, driving a Pirelli-equipped Fiesta Rally2, received a 10sec penalty for destroying a chicane in SS12. Piloting a Michelin-shod Fabia, Marczyk held firm to claim his best ERC finish since winning his home rally in 2022 – although he missed out on Power Stage points.
With his second podium finish of the season, Marczyk now leads the ERC standings by 16 points over Mads Østberg.
“It’s good – although we didn’t quite get the risk balance right when trying for Power Stage points. Still, I’m really happy to be second at Rally Poland. It was a good weekend for us, and now we need to do the same on Tarmac,” he said.
First ERC podium of the season for Armstrong
Armstrong secured his first podium of the season – and his first ever on gravel – after climbing from ninth on Saturday morning. A string of fast stage times propelled him to fourth, and then into third on Sunday.
“My first podium overall on gravel. A great weekend – Shane [Byrne] and the team did a fantastic job,” he said. “It’s been a bit of a bleak year so far in terms of results, so I’m really happy with this.”
Isak Reiersen continued his strong form, backing up his Sweden podium with fourth in Poland aboard his Hankook-equipped Škoda. Østberg battled back from Saturday turbo issues to take fifth ahead of Simone Tempestini.
Mille Johansson overcame set-up issues to finish seventh, while title hopeful Andrea Mabellini endured a tough event and could only manage eighth.
The top 10 was completed by local drivers Jakub Matulka and Krzysztof Bubik. Max McRae had been on course for a top 10 finish before losing a left-front tyre off the rim on the final stage. He was also hampered throughout by a handbrake issue with his Citroën C3 Rally2.
In Master ERC, András Hadik claimed victory after Jos Verstappen retired on the Power Stage. The ex-Formula 1 driver damaged his Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 in an impact and was forced to stop.
The ERC now heads to asphalt for round five: Rally di Roma Capitale, from 4 – 6 July.
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ERC Rally Poland 2025 – Final results
| # | Drivers | Car | Time / Diff. to 1st |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Sesks / Francis | Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 | 1:37:56.4 |
| 2. | Marczyk / Gospodarczyk | Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 | +1:06.3 |
| 3. | Armstrong / Byrne | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | +1:15.8 |
| 4. | Reiersen / Gustavsson | Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 | +1:37.9 |
| 5. | Østberg / Karlsson | Citroën C3 Rally2 | +1:54.9 |
| 6. | Tempestini / Itu | Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 | +2:34.4 |
| 7. | Johansson / Grönvall | Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 | +2:38.3 |
| 8. | Mabellini / Lenzi | Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 | +2:49.6 |
| 9. | Matulka / Syty | Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 | +3:32.2 |
| 10. | Bubik / Sadowski | Skoda Fabia R5 | +4:56.7 |
ERC 2025 Drivers’ Championship – Standings after Round 4/8 [Top 15]
| # | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Miko Marczyk | 81 |
| 2. | Mads Østberg | 65 (-16) |
| 3. | Roope Korhonen | 60 (-21) |
| 4. | Isak Reiersen | 60 (-21) |
| 5. | Andrea Mabellini | 60 (-21) |
| 6. | Jon Armstrong | 46 (-35) |
| 7. | Mille Johansson | 41 (-40) |
| 8. | Mārtiņš Sesks | 35 (-46) |
| 9. | Nikolay Gryazin | 34 (-47) |
| 10. | Eyvind Brynildsen | 31 (-50) |
| 11. | Simone Tempestini | 27 (-54) |
| 12. | Yoann Bonato | 26 (-55) |
| 13. | José Suárez | 22 (-59) |
| 14. | Frank Tore Larsen | 19 (-62) |
| 15. | Jakub Matulka | 18 (-63) |
Photo, content: Red Bull Content Pool
