Avcı-Gücenmez Secure Championship Title

The 37th Istanbul Rally, round six of the 2016 Turkish Rally Championship, took place on 24-25 September. Neo Motorspor's Yağız Avcı-Bahadır Gücenmez crew, supported by Peugeot Sport Türkiye, finished the rally in second place and mathematically secured the Turkish Rally Championship title with one round of the season still to run.

Avcı-Gücenmez led the first day of the rally, which comprised eight special stages on the Anatolian side of Istanbul, but dropped to second on the second day after a mechanical problem. In the final stage, the Red Bull Power Stage, the fault persisted and Bahadır Gücenmez had to push the car to the start line. Despite all the setbacks, the Avcı-Gücenmez crew finished the stage in second place and sealed the championship with one round to go.

Following the rally, Red Bull athlete Yağız Avcı, who leads the Turkish Rally Championship standings on 87 points and competed in the Istanbul Rally in a Peugeot 208 T16 R5, gave his thoughts: "We made a good start to the Istanbul Rally's classic fast stages, which leave little room for error, and we kept the lead until the last three stages. After that, the clutch problem we also had at Rally Kocaeli returned, and we went through the hardest and most exciting finale we have had so far. Even though we dropped to second place overall, the points we scored through our fight secured our championship. Many thanks to our whole team and to everyone who was beside us and supported us from outside."

The seventh and final round of the 2016 Turkish Rally Championship, Hitit Rally, will take place in Çorum on 29-30 October.