PRO ANNUAL 2018

“You win some, you lose some, you wreck some.” That’s how legendary NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Sr summed up a racing driver’s lot. He was right; there’s not a driver out there who hasn’t experienced both the highs and the lows of motorsport. Whether you’re winning, losing or wrecking though, one thing all drivers should be doing, is talking about it. Earnhardt was renowned for his memorable quotes. It was his character and personality off track as much as his sublime skills on track that earned him the legions of fans who still revere his name to this day. He built that reputation, and won those fans, via the media that covered the sport. No driver sets out to be a media star. It’s the adrenalin rush when the lights go out, the satisfaction of pulling off that overtake, the thrill of crossing the line first and looking down from the top step of the podium that you sign up for, not the media interviews that follow it. But any racer who’s looking to make a living from their passion needs that media exposure to achieve their ambitions in the first place. Some drivers like to think they can do all their talking on track, but delivering the goods behind the wheel just isn’t enough in this day and age. Even if you’re winning races and championships in karting and junior series, that’s probably not going to be enough to get you to a point where your pastime can become your profession. Budgets are high in motorsport and, as most racing drivers know all too well, money is hard to come by. The “Bank of Mum & Dad” will probably only fund you up the first few rungs of the motorsports ladder. After that, you’re going to be in need of some sponsorship. Unfortunately, companies that will pay your racing bills just for the love of the sport are all too few and far between. Most sponsors need exposure to justify that funding and it’s the media the provides that exposure. Sponsors also want ambassadors to represent their brands so ensuring that you’re getting the right kind of exposure is vital too. So how do you ensure that you’re getting your share of the limelight? How do you shine in the spotlight when it falls on you? Some teams and drivers employ press officers to manage their PR. It’s not always an easy job as I can testify having been a press officer for the Jordan Formula 1 team earlier in my career. Luckily for me, I never had the thankless task of managing Kimi Raikkonen’s PR, although I often had the unenviable job of trying to get a usable quote out of him when I was ITVs Formula 1 pitlane reporter. Don’t get me wrong – I love Kimi – but trying to get him to respond positively to a microphone is never easy. He has an impressive lack of interest in promoting himself, his team or his sponsors and any answers that you do manage to elicit are delivered in that familiar monosyllabic drone. Kimi has become a cult figure thanks to his disregard for the media. His “I was having a s***” response to Martin Brundle’s question about why he hadn’t appeared at a presentation to mark Michael Schumacher’s final race in Brazil is still many fans all-time favourite grid-walk interview. It’s partly Kimi’s lack of interest that’s led to his popularity but just because Kimi gets away with it, that doesn’t mean today’s young drivers can. Kimi started racing in a very different financial and media age. It’s debatable whether he’d had have made it out of karting if he was at the start of his career now rather than getting close to the end of it. There are times when every driver - even Kimi - has to stand up and defend himself in front of the media. No matter how skilled you are at racing on the edge, there will always be times when you’ll trip over it. Accidents and incidents are part and parcel of motorsport and how >> “Any racer who’s looking to make a living from their passion needs that media exposure to achieve their ambitions in the first place” “Knowing how to announce bad news in a good way is a vital skill” Opposite: ITV4s live coverage of the British Touring Car Championship provides vital exposure for the drivers and team PRO ANNUAL 2018 15