Team MRF Tyres' duo of Martins Sesks and Renars Francis have secured its win in Round 3 of the 2023 FIA European Rally Championship (ERC). The 23-year-old Latvian, Sesks, clinched a dominant lead of 39.6 seconds in the Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 car and fended off Hayden Paddon to lead Orlen 79th Rally Poland. However, a while before claiming his first victory of the season, Sesks seemed to be on the defensive when the BRC Racing Team driver conquered the opening test held on May 21 (Sunday) to narrow the gap to 7.4 seconds. The Latvian duo opened the season on Saturday with a lead of 8.2 seconds over title leader Paddon.
While this is the duo's first win of the season and the second of their career, the win at the 2023 ERC puts Sesks in second position with 48 points in the provisional standings, following Paddon with 85 points. "It feels so good to be driving for such a good team with such a good car. It's a pleasure and to be able to perform at such a high level it's really good. Everyone wants to make a statement but in our minds, we want to keep our heads down and just do our work", said Sesks.
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Team MRF Tyres' Contribution to Indian Motorsport
In 2022, MRF Tyres became the first Indian team to win the European Rally Championship, with Efrén Llarena and Sara Fernández clinching the first win for the team. For those unaware, MRF has been actively involved in Indian motorsport for decades - presently, it runs two one-make single-seater championships in the country: the Formula Ford 1600 & the Formula 2000 championship. The MRF Formula 2000 cars are used for the MRF Challenge, the company's most-coveted racing series. As a matter of fact, MRF is the only tyre company in the country that has developed FIA-CIK karting tyres, motocross tyres, world-class rally tyres, and formula car tyres.
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European Rally Championship: What is it?
The European Rally Championship is a rally series held annually on select European tracks. Launched in 1953, it is the oldest international rally series comprising a set of racing stages, and since then, it has served as an ultimate training ground for aspiring young talents. This year, the ERC has entered its 70th-anniversary season, with an 8-round calendar of events on both gravel & asphalt and four official tyre suppliers that include MRF, Michelin, Pirelli, and Hankook.
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