M-Sport Ford has been fleshing out its lineup for the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC). Grégoire Munster and Louis Louka were promoted to the organization’s flagship pairing for the 2025 racing season, while Josh McErlean and Eoin Treacy will jointly pilot a Rally1 entry for the first time in their career. The latest additions to the Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1 roster for 2025 are Mārtiņš Sesks and Renārs Francis, returning to the seat of their Rally1 entry after incredible debuts in 2024.
Sesks and Francis hail from Latvia. In 2024, Sesks broke onto the Rally1 scene in Rally Poland, claiming the second-best time during the opening stage on Friday and pacing the leaders despite not having the added strength from a hybrid system and finishing fifth overall. Sesks went on to take control of a full hybrid system at Rally Latvia, earning his first-ever stage win in the rally’s third stage, jockeying alongside the leaders in competition for the podium the rest of the weekend.
“I think Mārtiņš made a lot of new fans in a very short space of time last season, and now to think that those two performances have allowed him to find a six event program this year is fantastic,” said Richard Millener, M-Sport Ford Team Principal. “I am really excited to see what can be achieved by Mārtiņš and Renārs this year. Chile was a reminder that it won’t all be plain sailing, but I know that the speed he has shown, plus his determination and character, will make him a fantastic addition to our 2025 line-up.”
Sesks and Francis will drive an M-Sport Ford race car six times throughout the 2025 WRC season, racing at Portugal, Sardinia, Greece, Estonia, and Finland. Their Ford Puma racer will be backed with sponsorship dollars from SafetyCulture, ensuring that they’ll have quality machinery beneath them throughout their campaign. Sesks said he hopes that the partnership blossoms into a potential seventh race in Saudi Arabia by season’s end.
“We are very excited to continue our collaboration with the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team this year! We feel truly honored that our debut in the WRC’s Rally1 league last year has fostered such trust from both M-Sport and SafetyCulture,” Sesks said.0 “Additionally, the genuine interest from both long-standing and new sponsors from Latvia in supporting our efforts is very thrilling!”
He added, “Our goal is to add one more event with the Puma to our current list, the rally in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, we will be actively working throughout the season to secure the financial support necessary to make this goal a reality.”
Comment
Why do you keep copying those press releases from M-Sport… they will play once again a side role, just like in the Dakar… so much PR for what reason? They won’t EVER win the race but every little success is sold like a world performance. Please FORD, STOP with M-Sport and concentrate on F1 with a professional team!