Mārtiņš Nikijs Sesks (born 18 September 1999) is a Latvian

rally driver Rallying is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (sometimes called "rally racing" in United States), navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed ...

who currently competes in the

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is an international rallying series owned and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA. Inaugurated in 1973, it is the oldest FIA world championship after Formula One. E ...

for M-Sport Ford WRT on a part-time schedule.

Rally career

Sesks started rallying in 2014 in a

Honda Civic Type R The is a series of hot hatchback and sports sedan models based on the Honda Civic, Civic, developed and produced by Honda since September 1997. The first Civic Type R was the third model to receive Honda's Honda Type R, Type R badge (after the ...

. He entered the

Junior World Rally Championship The FIA Junior WRC Championship is an international rallying series restricted to drivers under 29 years old, running within the framework of the World Rally Championship. The series is governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobi ...

in , and finished as runner-up in . After winning his first

European Rally Championship The European Rally Championship (officially FIA European Rally Championship) is an rallying, automobile rally competition held annually on the European continent and organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The champion ...

event in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, the Latvian entered the series full-time in

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

. He went on to finish second to

Hayden Paddon Hayden Paddon (born 20 April 1987) is a New Zealand rallying, rally driver. He was World Rally Championship-3, PWRC world champion in 2011 and won the New Zealand Rally Championship in 2008, 2009, 2013, 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023. In 2023 Europea ...

in the final standing, having won the events in Poland and Latvia. Sesks made his Rally1 debut in 2024, competing at the

Rally Poland The Rally of Poland (in Polish, ''Rajd Polski'') is a motorsport event for rally cars that was first established in 1921. It is third-oldest rally in the world, preceded only by Österreichische Alpenfahrt and Monte Carlo Rally. The event becam ...

with M-Sport Ford WRT, where a strong opening run was praised by team principal Richard Millener. Despite running without a hybrid unit, he was able to run as high as second overall, eventually finishing fifth. He remained in the car for his home rally in

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

, once again earning plaudits for his pace, with only a late technical problem preventing a podium finish. Later on, he would be confirmed for the rally in Chile. There however, Sesks was forced to retire from Friday's running after crashing into a bank and puncturing two tyres; he went on to finish 24th.

Personal life

Sesks is the son of

Uldis Sesks Uldis Sesks (born April 18, 1962, in Liepāja), is a former mayor of Liepāja, Latvia and a businessman and former auto racer. Career Sesks is the Chairman of the Liepāja Special Economic Zone Authority, the Liepāja Party, the Liepāja De ...

, a politician and former rally racer who served as the mayor of his hometown of

Liepāja Liepāja () (formerly: Libau) is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest city in the Courland region and the third-largest in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an ...

between 1997 and 2018.

Rally results

Latvian Rally Championship results

WRC results

Season still in progress.

ERC results

* Season still in progress.

References

External links

Mārtiņš Sesks
s e-wrc profile {{DEFAULTSORT:Sesks, Mārtiņš 1999 births Living people Sportspeople from Liepāja European Rally Championship drivers Latvian rally drivers M-Sport drivers World Rally Championship drivers