European Rally Championship Portugal finale: Martins Sesks wins
Pablo Sarrazin finished second ahead of Roope Korhonen after mechanical problems twice changed the lead on the final day of the 2026 season.
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Pablo Sarrazin finished second ahead of Roope Korhonen after mechanical problems twice changed the lead on the final day of the 2026 season.
Martins Sesks won Rally 6 Cities North of Portugal on October 25, finishing ahead of Pablo Sarrazin and Roope Korhonen in the 2026 European Rally Championship (ERC) finale. It was Sesks’s fifth victory in the series.
Sesks had ended the opening leg with a 10.5-second advantage over Korhonen. Both drivers then suffered mechanical problems during the final day, reversing their positions before Sesks recovered the lead.
A problem with a damper—a shock absorber in the suspension—left Sesks 8.2 seconds behind Korhonen after the morning stages. Korhonen extended his lead to 10.6 seconds with three stages remaining, but his car then lost drive to its rear wheels.
Korhonen said his rear differential, which distributes power to the rear wheels, had broken. With Korhonen reduced to two-wheel drive, Sesks moved back ahead to win. Sarrazin, who had battled a steering problem during the morning, took second from Korhonen on the Power Stage, the rally’s final timed stage.
| Position | Driver |
|---|---|
| 1 | Martins Sesks |
| 2 | Pablo Sarrazin |
| 3 | Roope Korhonen |
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