Top News

Mechanics fixed a totally destroyed £1million Ford Puma car in just under four hours in an incredible feat. Mārtiņš Sesks completely destroyed his WRC rally car 6.3km into Rally Finland’s SS14 stage in a high-speed shunt, with the Latvian rolling the car into a row of trees.

The M-Sport driver clipped a ditch on the exit of a fast right-hander, with the Puma forced into a barrel roll before striking a forest. The car was ripped to pieces in the crash, but the roll cage survival cell ensured Martins and co-driver Renārs Francis were completely uninjured.

The vehicle managed to make it back to the service park in Jyväskylä, with 10 on-site M-Sport mechanics who allowed just 4 hours to fix the Ford Puma, ensuring the car could re-enter the rally on Sunday.

The boss of the Cheshire-based squad, Richard Millener, has since confirmed the team was initially going to retire the car, but realised a fix was possible after Sesks drove the car out of the stage himself. After assessing the damage, the team realised that most of it was cosmetic, with the bodywork ripped off rather than crucial components.

Crews immediately got to work, stripping off the old bodywork and building a new chassis around the frame, adding an incredible 73 new parts. The team has since confirmed parts fitted to the model included a new rear roof panel, rear brake ducts, fender panels and tail lamps.

The full list of repairs also included new brake pads, arch line diffusers, bodywork panels and even door hinges.

The M-Sport mechanics managed to complete the work with 20 minutes remaining, even taking time out to proudly pose for a photograph next to the completed rebuild.

Team boss Rich Millener said: “A small mistake ended with big damage. You get 4 hours to repair it and stay in the rally. Is it possible? Of course it was. Top work team.”

It’s not the first time that M-Sport has been called into action, with mechanics fixing former driver Gregoire Munster’s car after a crash at Rally Finland in 2024.