Step by Step Towards the Title
The Barum Zlin Rally, held in the Czech Republic on 25-27 August and one of the toughest rounds of the European championship, handed a big advantage to Castrol Ford Team Türkiye, the only Turkish team in the series. In an event where Castrol Ford Team Türkiye managed to open up the points gap to its two most important rivals in the European Rally Team Championship, 151 crews battled it out over 204.25 km of asphalt stages and only 59 of them made it to the finish.
In the Barum Zlin Rally, the sixth round of the championship, the crew of Murat Bostancı-Onur Vatansever competed in the R5 class, while Buğra Banaz-Burak Erdener contested the two-wheel-drive category in a Fiesta R2T with a 1.0 EcoBoost engine. Following the European Rally Two-Wheel-Drive Championship this year, the Turkish Rally Juniors winners Banaz-Erdener also managed to keep their lead in the ERC3 classification, which features 20 drivers, by a margin of 5 points after this event.
Assessing the team's situation after the Barum Zlin Rally, Castrol Ford Team Türkiye Team Director Serdar Bostancı said: Before the Barum Zlin Rally, the standings in the European Rally Championship were as follows;"With six rounds of the European Rally Championship now behind us, we managed to keep the lead we took at the Acropolis Rally in the Czech Republic too. It was a very difficult event for everyone. We competed with the precautions we had taken against the difficulties we anticipated and managed to bring all of our cars to the finish. Our two biggest rivals, the German and Polish crews, scored low points as a result of the risks they took. I believe we are flying the Turkish flag successfully in this championship, in which 34 teams are competing, and all the teams are now taking the strategies we apply as an example. Another notable success is that our lead in the two-wheel-drive category continues. The achievements of our young crew Buğra Banaz-Burak Erdener make us proud and are carrying our team towards the title."
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1. Castrol Ford Team Türkiye - Türkiye - 153
2. Opel Junior Team - Germany - 101
3. ACRR Czech Team – Czech Republic - 99
4. Lotos Rally Team – Poland - 88
5. Peugeot Rally Academy - Spain - 51
6. Sports Racing Technologies - Latvia - 49
7. Botka Tlustak Team – Czech Republic - 44
8. Russian Motorsport Perfrormance - Russia - 44
9. ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team - Germany - 43
10. Gemini Clinic Rally Yeam – France - 35
Castrol Ford Team Türkiye's final event in the European Rally Championship will take place in Lithuania on 6-8 October.
