Despite grabbing the FIA Junior WRC championship lead with victory in Portugal last weekend, Mārtiņš Sesks isn’t letting title talk change his strategy.

The Latvian held a sturdy lead of over three minutes at the finish of the Matosinhos-based Vodafone Rally de Portugal after scorching into top spot on Saturday when power steering maladies dropped rival Sami Pajari down the order.

Sesks narrowly missed out on the coveted title when he came runner-up in 2020, but insists he isn’t getting ahead of himself with three rallies still left to complete.

“Last year, we had also been leaders on the [championship] table,” he said. “It was a pressure to see myself on the top, but this year, I’m trying to really not think about it because it can be a distraction sometimes.

“It’s too early to think about championship standings. For sure, we need to search for as many points as we can, but I am just keeping my head down and focusing on what I can do in the car.”