Avcı-Gücenmez Unlucky at Rally Kocaeli

The third round of the 2016 Turkish Rally Championship, Ford Otosan Rally Kocaeli, was held on 11-12 June 2016 with 48 crews taking part. Starting from in front of the 41 Burda Shopping Centre, the crews tackled 3 special stages on the first day and 5 on the second, covering a total of 360 kilometres.

After a fierce battle between Yağız Avcı, Murat Bostancı and Orhan Avcıoğlu over the two days, Orhan Avcıoğlu took the win, with Murat Bostancı second and Burak Çukurova third at the finish. The Peugeot Sport Türkiye-backed crew of Yağız Avcı and Bahadır Gücenmez, who had led after six stages, were unable to finish the rally after a clutch problem before the final special stage. Having opened the season with victory in the Aegean Rally and then won Marmaris Rally Turkey as well, Avcı-Gücenmez dropped to second in the Turkish Rally Championship standings, 1.8 points behind, after this misfortune in Kocaeli.

Avcı, who was competing in a Peugeot 208 T16 R5, said after the rally: "We started well at Rally Kocaeli, but on the second day our wrong tyre strategy meant we couldn't perform well, and then we retired with a mechanical problem. We will keep doing our best in the remaining rounds. I congratulate our rivals again and thank everyone who supports us."