Baja Troia Turkey Gets Under Way
Round five of the East European Tout Terrain Series, a six-round international off-road racing series featuring five organising countries, Baja Troia Turkey takes place in and around Çanakkale from 4-7 October. First brought to Turkey in 2017 by the Istanbul Off-road Club (İSOFF) and again held in Çanakkale, the event begins at 17:00 on Thursday 4 October with the start ceremony in front of the Trojan Horse in the centre of Çanakkale.
A total of 70 vehicles, 37 in the rally category and 33 in the motorcycle category, will tackle the prologue stage after the ceremony. Run at night under floodlights, the stage has been designed to boost the spectacle: the vehicles start two by two, side by side, racing on twin tracks linked by a bridge crossing in the middle. The motorcycles will start four abreast.
Over the four-day event, 4x4s, buggies, ATVs, UTVs and motorcycles will take on both demanding off-road stages and high-speed performance stages. Alongside crews from Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Israel, leading names from Turkey's off-road and motorcycle scenes are also taking part.
The stages are planned in the same area as last year's event, but on different routes. The ceremonial start will be given in front of the Trojan Horse in central Çanakkale. The prologue stage and the spectator special stages will be run on a dedicated track built next to Çanakkale Kipa. The special stages will be held on forest and village roads roughly 30 km from the centre. Each stage averages 100 km in length. With a total stage distance of 815.75 km, the event consists of the prologue, run on Thursday evening, and a total of 10 stages.
BAJA TROIA TURKEY 2018 PROGRAMME
| Thursday 4 October | 17:00 | Start Ceremony | Trojan Horse |
| 17:30 | Prologue Start Motorcycles | Kipa Spectator Area | |
| 18:58 | Prologue Start Rally | Kipa Spectator Area | |
| Friday 5 October | 08:30 | SS1 PARIS Motorcycles | 80.56 km |
| 09:33 | SS1 PARIS Rally | 80.56 km | |
| 13:46 | SS2 HOMEROS Rally | 41.41 km | |
| 15:39 | SS3 ILION Rally | 84.81 km | |
| 18:58 | SS4 TROIA 1 Rally | 5.40 km | |
| Saturday 6 October | 10:08 | SS5 İSOFF Motorcycles | 79.64 km |
| 11:08 | SS5 İSOFF Rally | 79.64 km | |
| 15:26 | SS6 WILUSA | 85.54 km | |
| 18:45 | SS7 TROIA 2 | 5.40 km | |
| Sunday 7 October | 07:58 | SS8 IDA Motorcycles | 73.81 km |
| 08:43 | SS8 IDA Rally | 73.81 km | |
| 12:46 | SS9 DARDANOS | 56.56 km | |
| 15:00 | SS10 TROIA 3 | 5.40 km | |
| 19.00 | Awards Ceremony | Trojan Horse |
