(14.06.2025) As expected, gravel specialists Martins Sesks (LVA, Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) and Roope Korhonen (FIN, Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) are setting the pace at the ORLEN OIL 81st Rally Poland. During Saturday morning’s loop, the pair traded stage wins—two for the Latvian, one for the Finn. After four stages, Sesks holds the overall lead with a 5.6-second advantage over Korhonen. The best of the Polish crews, Mikołaj Marczyk and Szymon Gospodarczyk (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2), lie third, 8.6 seconds behind the leaders.
The rally got underway on Friday, 13 June, with a spectacular opener at the Mikołajki Arena. On the 2.5-kilometre super special stage, where crews go head-to-head in parallel duels, Marczyk and Gospodarczyk emerged as the fastest pairing. The 2022 Rally Poland winners claimed their sixth career victory on this stage, and their fourth in an FIA ERC round. Although they were two seconds slower than their record time of 1:44.6 set last year, their performance was enough to beat Italians Andrea Mabellini and Virginia Lenzi (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) by just 0.1 seconds. Third place went to 2023 Rally Poland winners Martins Sesks and Renars Francis (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2), 0.2 seconds behind the Polish duo.
Latvia vs. Finland: The duel intensifies
On Saturday morning, the action moved to the north-east of Mikołajki, where competitors tackled three special stages: Świętajno (16.3 km), Olecko (20.0 km), and Stare Juchy (13.6 km), each to be run twice. The final stage is making its first appearance in the Rally Poland itinerary since 2019.
Sesks opened the morning with a dominant win on SS2, Świętajno, co-driven by Renars Francis. The Latvian set a blistering pace, finishing 9.1 seconds ahead of Korhonen/Viinikka. The Swedish duo of Isak Reiersen and Stefan Gustavsson (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) came in third, 9.6 seconds back. Marczyk/Gospodarczyk were fourth, less than 10 seconds behind the winners.
This reshuffled the overall standings: Sesks jumped into the lead, Korhonen climbed to second, and Marczyk dropped to third.
Korhonen responded on SS3, the 20 km Olecko stage, outpacing the field. However, his stage win wasn’t enough to overhaul Sesks in the standings. Marczyk finished second on the stage, 5.7 seconds behind, with Reiersen third at +7.3 s. Sesks, who briefly slid off the road, dropped 7.8 seconds and finished fifth, but retained his overall lead thanks to the cushion he built earlier in the loop.
SS4, the first run through Stare Juchy, saw Sesks bounce back with his second win of the day. Marczyk finished just one second behind, closing the gap to Korhonen to 3.0 seconds. The third-fastest crew on the stage was the Irish pair Jon Armstrong and Shane Byrne (Ford Fiesta Rally2, +1.8 s).
Poles leading in ERC3
After four special stages, the overall top five is led by Martins Sesks and Renars Francis, followed by Roope Korhonen and Anssi Viinikka, who trail by 5.6 seconds. In third place are Poland’s Mikołaj Marczyk and Szymon Gospodarczyk, just 8.6 seconds off the lead. Sweden’s Isak Reiersen and Stefan Gustavsson hold fourth (+17.2 s), with Mads Østberg and Giovanni Bernacchini (Citroën C3 Rally2) rounding out the top five, 18.8 seconds behind the leaders.
Marczyk and Gospodarczyk also lead the Polish national championship (RSMP) classification by a comfortable margin. They are trailed by current RSMP leaders Jakub Matulka and Damian Syty (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2), who sit 42.4 seconds back. Krzysztof Bubik and Adrian Sadowski (Škoda Fabia R5) round out the top three, 1:12.6 behind.
Elsewhere, Grzegorz Grzyb and Adam Binięda (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) experienced a scary moment on SS2, rolling at low speed. Fortunately, their car landed on its wheels, allowing them to continue without major delay.
In ERC3, which features Rally3 cars, the fight is shaping into a Polish–Finnish–French contest. Tymoteusz Abramowski and Jakub Wróbel (Ford Fiesta Rally3) lead the class. Just 11.3 seconds behind are Finns Ville Vatanen and Jarno Ottman (Renault Clio Rally3), while French crew Tristan Charpentier and Florian Barral (Ford Fiesta Rally3) sit third, 20.4 seconds adrift.
Among the front-wheel-drive crews, Sweden’s Calle Carlberg and Norway’s Jørgen Eriksen (Opel Corsa Rally4) lead the way in ERC4 and Junior ERC.
ORLEN OIL 81. Rally Poland – standings after SS4:
1. Sesks/Francis (LVA/LVA, Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) 27:38.6 s
2. Korhonen/Viinikka (FIN/FIN, Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +5.6 s
3. Marczyk/Gospodarczyk (POL/POL, Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +8.6 s
4. Reiersen/Gustavsson (SWE/SWE, Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +17.2 s
5. Østberg/Bernacchini (NOR/ITA, Citroën C3 Rally2) +18.8 s
6. Armstrong/Byrne (IRL/IRL, Ford Fiesta Rally2) +20.0 s
7. Mabellini/Lenzi (ITA/ITA, Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +30.8 s
8. Tempestini/Itu (ROU/ROU, Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +41.4 s
9. Johansson/Grönvall (SWE/SWE, Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +47.4 s
10. Matulka/Syty (POL/POL, Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +51.0 s
