Advantage Rovanperä but Sesks grabs the headlines on Friday
Kalle Rovanperä opened up a 15.7sec lead over local rising star Mārtiņš Sesks at Tet Rally Latvia as the two youngsters stole the show on Friday.

But it was 24-year-old hotshot Sesks, contesting only his second event in rallying’s highest echelon and utilising hybrid power for the first time in his M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1, whose performance raised more eyebrows.
Sesks, who is co-driven by fellow Latvian Renārs Francis, reaffirmed that the future is here now when he grabbed his first-ever WRC stage win on the day’s second stage at Tukums, passing eight-time world champion Sébastien Ogier in the process. And, as if that weren’t enough for the 24-year-old, he backed it up with another fastest time on the very next test.
Tänak, meanwhile, fell from fourth to sixth after a challenging day. The Estonian reported a lack of confidence early on as well as a brake issue which he fixed on the roadside after the penultimate stage.
Elfyn Evans, currently second in the points, trailed the leaders by more than 50sec in seventh. Although he was not hit as hard as championship leader and road-opener Thierry Neuville, the Toyota ace was second in the starting order and struggled to find traction with no real clean line to follow.