The World Rally Championship arrives in Saudi Arabia this week for a groundbreaking event – the inaugural Rally Saudi Arabia, marking the first time the WRC has raced in the Kingdom [[1]].latvian duo Mārtiņš Sesks and Renars Francis are among 41 teams preparing to navigate 319.44 kilometers across 17 challenging stages, as the 2025 season draws to a close [[3]]. With the championship title still contested between Evans, Ogier and rovanperä, and Hankook Tire & Technology taking over as the exclusive tire supplier for all WRC categories next season [[2]], this final rally promises a thrilling conclusion to the year.
Mārtiņš Sesks | Foto: M-Sport Ford WRT
Latvian rally team Martins Sesks and Renars Francis will kick off the final, 14th round of the World Rally Championship (WRC) season in Saudi Arabia today. This event marks a historic first for the WRC, as it’s the inaugural rally held in the Kingdom.
Practice runs begin at 10:01 AM Latvian time, and a single 5.22-kilometer stage will run at 7:35 PM. Fans can catch all the action live on “Go3 Sport 2.” Thursday’s stages start at 7:08 AM, Friday at 7:26 AM, and Saturday at 7:35 AM.
Over four days, rally teams will tackle 17 stages totaling 319.44 kilometers. A total of 41 teams have confirmed participation, including 12 competing in the top “Rally1” class.
Sesks, driving a Ford Puma Rally1 prepared by M-Sport Ford, is competing in his seventh WRC event this season. The Latvian duo finished sixth at Rally Sweden, 15th in Portugal and Greece, retired after a crash in Sardinia, and secured eighth-place finishes in both Rally Estonia and Rally Finland. They also claimed a victory at the fourth round of the European Rally Championship (ERC) in Poland in mid-June.
After 13 WRC rounds, Britain’s Elfyn Evans leads the overall standings with 272 points, followed closely by France’s Sébastien Ogier with 269, and Kalle Rovanperä of Finland with 248. Ott Tänak of Estonia sits in fourth with 213 points. Sesks currently holds 12th place with 16 points earned across six events.
Sesks made his WRC debut last season, competing in three rallies. He finished fifth in Poland, seventh at the inaugural WRC event in Latvia – narrowly missing the podium in the final stage – and continued in Chile for training purposes after an accident.
