While the 23-year-old Swede is making his debut in the Open 4WD category this year, Martin Enlund has not waited long to establish himself as one of the most spectacular drivers in the RallyX championship.
One thing is certain, the Ford Fiesta driver has perfectly managed his transition from Supercar Lites to Supercar. More than generous with his driving style, Martin Enlund has been entertaining the fans with some very impressive lines since the very first race of the championship.
After four races this year, the man from Västerås is second in the Pro-Am standings, just four points behind leader Joni Turpeinen, with one win and three podiums to his name.
Admittedly, the ‘newcomer’ to the Pro category has had a little more trouble getting into the action, with just one qualification for a final in the Tierp 1 race, but his performances during the qualification rounds speak in his favour.
Of the 12 qualifying heats contested since the start of the season, Martin has finished in the top 6 on 10 occasions, including second and third fastest times at Kouvola 2 and Tierp 2.
Still learning the ropes at the wheel of the ex-OMSE Ford Fiesta MK8, the young Swede will remember this first part of the championship for the incredible work done behind the scenes by his team, even though he had hoped for a much better result in Race 2 at Kouvola, where his duel with Yury Belevskiy in the Pro semi-final ended with a black flag.
“I came away from Kouvola with mixed feelings,” said Martin.
“On the first day I was sliding too much and never managed to find the right speed. I still scored some important points by finishing fourth in the Pro-Am final, but I didn’t manage to qualify for the Pro final. ”
“Between the two races of the weekend my team worked extremely hard to correct the lack of power that affected us in Race 1 and their work paid off as I could feel a clear difference from Q1 in Race 2”.
Martin ended Q1 with the second-fastest time to finish fifth in the intermediate classification, despite finishing 13th in Q2.
There’s no doubt that his fantastic duel with Yury Belevskiy in the opening laps of the semi-final was a major factor in keeping the Finnish fans on the edge of their seats, even if a push at the end of lap 2 put a definitive end to the hopes of both drivers.
“I felt really good in this semi-final. I had a good start which allowed me to take the lead of the race. Unfortunately, my contact with Yury brought out the black flag. It’s obviously a big disappointment for me as I was very close to securing my place in the Pro Final. Of course I understand the judges’ decision, even if I don’t agree with it 100%,” laughs Martin.
“As a result, I tried to make up for it in the Pro-Am final as best I could with a third podium in four races, which keeps me in the game in the overall standings. It’s a good result and I owe a lot to my team, who managed to change the gearbox between the semi-finals and the Pro Am final. They really worked like crazy, considering how little time they had to achieve such a feat.”
“To be honest, I’m very proud of my team. We’re rookies in Supercar and we’re still learning about the category and the car. Nevertheless, I’m really pleased with the progress we’ve made between the two races this weekend in Finland.”
