Martins Sesks has been very impressive this season, having made his debut in Rally1 in the World Rally Championship.
The Latvian driver made his first appearance at Rally Poland with a fifth place, which was followed up by a drive to seventh place next time out at Rally Latvia.
M-Sport-Ford has given Sesks an opportunity at Rally Chile this weekend as he looks for a full-time seat in the WRC next season.
Team principal Richard Millener has outlined his and Ford’s expectations for the Latvian driver ahead of the event but warned fighting for a podium will be a challenge via quotes from Motorsport.com.
Richard Millener explained he wants to see Sesks complete ‘another rally with no issues’ in the WRC
Sesks has been very impressive so far in Rally1, but Rally Chile may present some more challenges as he has never driven on those stages.
Fortunately, the rally is on gravel, the same loose surface as Rally Poland and in Latvia, which may help him adjust in the World Rally Championship.
READ MORE: ‘It’s not fair!’: Martins Sesks left baffled by ‘dizzy’ Rally Chile after WRC shakedown
Sesks has driven well, scoring two top-10 finishes, but Millener warned that he wants to see the 25-year-old make no errors at Rally Chile.
He said: “I don’t want to expect that he could repeat challenging for a podium in Latvia. What we want to see is another rally with no issues, and him get to the end with no mistakes and effectively have a good result, which I think could be done by being clever as well.
“If he can get top five again, fantastic, that’s more the goal, so it’s a bit of an extended audition, I guess. But certainly, I’m not in a position to say that he’s going to be signing with us for next year.
It’s just a case of trying to see what else we can do for these junior drivers.
“It’s a good opportunity for us to see what throwing a completely new environment at him with not a lot of notice. What he can do and how he approaches it.”
Martin Sesks will have the extra challenge of driving without hybrid power at Rally Chile
Sesks will be disadvantaged because he won’t be able to take advantage of the added power from the hybrid system.
The hybrid system in the WRC provides an extra boost of 100kW, making it difficult for the Latvian to challenge at the front of the field.
Rally Chile is also more technical than the event at which Sesks made his debut in Poland. The WRC event in Chile has similarities to Wales Rally GB despite being in very different environments.