The first of the hopeful gravel stages / day
After missing two rounds, Latvian crew Martins Sesks/Renārs Francis will return to the World Rally Championship (WRC). This weekend, from 15 to 18 May, the Portuguese rally will take place on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Live Go3 Sport 1 television channel.
There have already been four stages in the 2025 season – Monte Carlo, Sweden, Kenya and the Canary Islands. Sesks and Francis took part in the second stage in Sweden, where snowy roads with Ford Puma Rally1 The car won sixth place, reaching the third best time in two of the 18 stages. For the Latvian crew, this was the second best result in the relatively short WRC Rally experience. In 2024, the two debuted at the highest level of the World Rally. In the first start in Poland, the highest, fifth place was also won. In the Latvian Rally, Sesks/Francis was seventh, and at the end of the season, the Chilean rally had to settle for the 24th position.
After the Portuguese Rally, the Latvian crew is expected to participate in the next four stages of the WRC. The next five stages will take place on the gravel pavement paths, where ferrets with Francis have more experience, so there should be better prospect than in Sweden to fight with the world’s elite riders. For four days, the crews of the Portuguese sandy and rocky gravel pavement will need to win 24 special stages with a total length of 344.50 kilometers. Disabled elbows and springboard will be a serious test for all riders. Membership has been confirmed by 95 crews, of which 12 will start with the leading class Rally1 for cars.
Welsh Evans Evans (Toyota) are in a stable overall lead with 109 points. The closest follower bag Kalles Rovanperes (Toyota) 66 points on the bill. The ferret, with eight points scored in one stage, ranks 10.
Rally
WRC in Portugal, Speed Stages live on Go3 Sport 1
15.V 21.00
16.V 9.35, 11.05, 11.50, 12.40, 15.05, 15.50, 19.05, 20.35, 21.20
17.V 9.30, 10.30, 12.25, 17.00, 18.00, 19.55, 21.00
18.V 8.45, 9.45, 10.30
Seska/Franz’s planned future WRC starts
15-18.V Portuguese Rally
5 to 8.VI Sardinian Rally
26-29.VI Acropolis Rally
17-20.VII Estonian Rally
31.VII -3.VIII Finnish Rally
27-30.XI Saudi Arabia Rally*
*Membership will still be clarified
