Team MRF Tyres took a dominant victory at the Tet Rally Liepāja as the home hero Mārtiṇš Sesks delivered another victory for the team in the fourth round of the 2023 FIA European Rally Championship. The Team MRF Tyres drivers Martins Sesks and Renars Francis won the rally by over 41 seconds, taking seven stage wins from the nine stages completed.
Sesks won seven of nine completed stages, including Sunday’s power stage, to win by 41.4 seconds over Hayden Paddon, who was content to settle for second, with fellow World Rally Championship event winner Mads Østberg completing the podium.
On the back of his recent victory at the Rally of Poland, Sesks was in dominant form, leading the rally from start to finish. The Lativan duo, in their Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 looked to have the rally in control from the outset. Setting the fastest time in qualifying and then making it look easy on stage. As others struggled in the dust of the opening stage, the Team MRF Tyres driver on his Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 opened an immediate 16.4s lead over his team mate Østberg’s Citroën C3 Rally2.
Winner Martin Sesks said, “What an incredible rally! I must thank my team and MRF Tyres for giving me such a fantastic car. The tyres were amazing throughout the weekend and really allowed me to push. To win at home once again is amazing. There were so many fans lining the stages! I am looking forward to the next round in Sweden.”
As rain fell, three more consecutive stage wins extended Sesks’ advantage to more 30seconds before he dropped three seconds on Saturday night’s Liepāja City superspecial after facing the worst of the wet weather.
Speaking on the occasion, Efren Llarena said, “We are finding the speed we need this year. The MRF Tyres have been brilliant, and we are looking forward to getting back out and really proving our pace. I would like to congratulate Martins, Renars on their victory and also to Mads and Patrik for their podium on MRF Tyres!”
With top speeds on the stages topping 120km/h on the loose gravel roads, the MRF Tyres and Sesks were in absolute control. The success for MRF Tyres continued with Mads Ostberg and Patrik Barth who took third place for the MRF Tyres Dealer Team in their Citroen C3 Rally2. The Norwegian team set competitive times throughout the rally to take their second podium of the season.
Team MRF Tyres saw an additional two cars inside the top 10 with the Spanish duo of Efren Llarena and Sara Fernandez coming at ninth ahead of Italians Simone Campedelli and Tania Canton. With two wins in a row, Sesks and Renars close in on the title lead and sit second in the Driver’s standings. Furthermore, Team MRF Tyres has extended its lead at the top of the Team’s Championship. The next round of the FIA European Rally Championship is the Rally Sweden, taking the crews to a new gravel round in the Scandinavian summer.