Sesks turns misfortune into mastery as MRF seals ERC crown in Portugal

Fafe delivered one last, cruel twist to close the 2026 FIA European Rally Championship. Mārtiņš Sesks arrived at Rally 6 Cities North of Portugal leading his Team MRF Tyres team-mate Roope Korhonen by 10.5sec, lost the advantage to a damper problem, then reclaimed victory when Korhonen’s Toyota lost drive to its rear axle. It was a fifth ERC win for the Latvian — and the result that secured Team MRF Tyres its fourth teams’ title in five seasons.

The MRF duel

For much of Sunday, this looked like Korhonen’s rally. Sesks had controlled leg one despite a pop-off valve concern, but a damper issue on the rough northern Portuguese gravel left him 8.2sec behind after the morning loop. Korhonen then extended the margin to 10.6sec with three stages remaining, appearing set to convert his pace into a maiden ERC win.

Then the rally changed. Korhonen’s rear differential failed and his GR Yaris Rally2 dropped into two-wheel-drive mode, handing Sesks and co-driver Renārs Francis an unexpectedly comfortable run to the finish. Sesks ultimately won by 1m02.9sec, with Sarrazin demoting the ailing Korhonen to third on the Power Stage.

Sesks was candid about the fine line between control and commitment.

“We worked a lot towards this. Of course, it wasn’t easy for us and Roope today, we both had some technical issues. At the end we were a bit more lucky but the pace we were driving today and yesterday, they made us push really hard. Yesterday you were giving it all out at the beginning, today was more about seeing what we can do and what we cannot. In the end we played the safe game, and it paid off.”

Korhonen’s disappointment was obvious, but his weekend had been genuinely quick: three stage wins on Saturday, a strong Sunday morning and a car he clearly trusted.

“Our rear diff broke and the car was only two-wheel drive, so quite a shame. Of course it’s frustrating because we did a good job and we led the rally but it’s part of the game and that’s it. Everything was going really well, the feeling in the car was super-nice and the car set-up felt good, tyres and everything. I didn’t need to push so much because it feels good.”

Sarrazin’s breakthrough

Pablo Sarrazin’s second place was the quiet achievement of the weekend. On only his third ERC start, the Frenchman kept his Michelin-shod Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale in the fight despite a steering problem through Sunday morning, then pounced when Korhonen slowed on the Power Stage — the stage that includes the famous Pedra Sentada, or Fafe, jump.

It was Sarrazin’s first ERC podium, and a career-best result. He had already shown his potential by setting the benchmark on SS3, but the bigger story is the lineage behind it: Sarrazin is a third-generation rally driver, competing with the team of his father Stéphane, himself a former ERC event winner.[

His podium also mattered beyond personal satisfaction. Together with Arthur Pelamourgues, Sarrazin helped Team France win the second National Match Rally, ahead of Team Portugal.

MRF’s fourth crown

Team MRF Tyres left Portugal with the ERC Teams’ championship sealed. Sesks’ victory delivered the decisive points, giving MRF 233 points — 98 clear of Racing Factory Motorsport Solutions — and a fourth teams’ title, following successes in 2022, 2023 and 2025.

It was a fittingly messy, resilient way to win it. Sesks and Korhonen both had mechanical trouble, yet the team still finished first and third, underlining the depth of its Rally2 operation. Sesks’ call-up for the finale proved decisive: the M-Sport Ford World Rally Championship driver repaid Team MRF Tyres with both the event win and the championship-clinching result.

Pirelli’s tyre title

Away from the overall fight, Pirelli claimed a second consecutive FIA ERC Tyre Manufacturers’ title. Its season was built around Teemu Suninen’s drivers’ championship, secured in Wales with a round to spare, and Andrea Mabellini’s third place in the final standings; both ran Pirelli rubber for the full season.

The Italian manufacturer’s case was broad as well as deep. Pirelli-equipped crews won 45 of the championship’s 101 special stages — 45% — including 32 of 68 asphalt stages and 13 of 33 gravel stages. The new Scorpion AT gravel range made an immediate impression, with Mikko Heikkilä winning Rally Scandinavia on its ERC debut using both soft and supersoft compounds.

Pirelli’s rally activity manager Terenzio Testoni framed the title as proof of sustained development rather than a one-surface advantage.

“This season rewards the work of our drivers and the entire team, as well as a clear technical commitment: to keep developing the range even when our products are already competitive.”

A finale worthy of the ERC

The Portuguese finale was brutal. Kris Meeke crashed out on SS4, Patrick Enok stopped with suspension damage on the same test, Sarah Rumeau retired from ninth on her ERC debut after a roll, and Nikolay Gryazin’s gearbox failure ended a promising run — although he restarted and recovered to 17th.

But the lasting image is of Sesks, composed while his team-mate’s rally unravelled, crossing the line to give MRF the perfect ending. Korhonen lost a victory; Sarrazin found a breakthrough; MRF and Pirelli left Fafe with silverware. Rally’s capacity for heartbreak and reward rarely arrives so neatly packaged.