To use the youthful words of Colin Clark, Mārtiņš had charm, confidence and ‘rizz’, but more in the sense that the media presence and publicity of his debut was as important as his performance. The production level on his Instagram was immense. He made vlogs in the middle of the rally, in the media zones, during service, and spoke to the camera as if he was a seasoned YouTuber getting the opportunity to drive the fastest rally cars in the world.
Being able to show your personality in this way publicly in front of other drivers and teams while fighting for victory in the heat of battle is something we have never experienced before.
Sami is outwardly quiet, shy and a man of few words. But lately he’s been opening up to us at DirtFish. There have been regular off-camera conversations, but you only have to look at our tell-all interviews, initial interviews or breakdowns to see that he’s now ready to give Colin a hard time! Especially in Finland.
Admittedly, Sesk’s first stage win wasn’t like Sami’s in his first event, but it’s hard to pick the best reaction from the two! All I know is that I could relate to it so well when watching both of them. And even though we were busy, we all stopped in the Paviljonki press office and clapped when Sami grabbed the camera in celebration. It’s a moment you won’t forget. When was the last time we saw a rider grab the camera like that?
But this question raises a bigger issue that I’m sure we are all aware of. These two drivers have appealed to a new and, above all, young audience in the last three rallies. But I have no doubt that there are four or five other drivers who could create similar memories in Rally1 machinery. It’s hard to argue that we wouldn’t have seen the same thing with Solberg in Sweden? With Rossel in Monte? Or even with Virves somewhere in Estonia?
Of course we need the old guard, our experienced stars, but the current situation with the lack of places and opportunities means we don’t see these feel-good stories as ‘normal’. As someone who works in media, but also as a young fan new to the modern WRC who appreciates a viral clip, a relatable reaction or a ‘will to survive’ moment behind the scenes, I feel we owe Mārtiņš and Sami a thank you.
