Berkay Besler Takes Championship Lead

National karting driver Berkay Besler has put another successful weekend behind him. Representing Turkey in the Senior category of the CIK FIA Central East Europe Zone Championships, Besler took the overall lead in the standings with a superb performance in the second round of the series, held in Austria.

In the semi-final at the 1,120-metre Speedworld circuit in Bruck, Besler was pushed off the track at the start while trying to pass a rival and dropped back to 16th. The Turkish driver then produced an incredible drive that impressed onlookers, quickly climbing up the order. Setting the highest speed at 91.72 km/h and the fastest time with 43.960, Besler finished fifth, 2.34 seconds behind the winner Patrick Pastorok, who took the 18-lap race in 13:24.231, and collected valuable points.

The 22-lap Final followed a similar pattern to the semi-final. Caught up in the confusion at the start and dropping to seventh, Besler once again delivered an incredible performance. Recording the highest speed at 92.20 km/h and the fastest time with 43.729, Besler finished second, 0.879 seconds behind the winner Petr Bezel, who completed the race in 16:14.463.

Continuing to stand on the podium in Europe all season and maintaining a consistent presence at the top, Besler scored 82 points to move up to 166 and take the overall lead in the CIK FIA Central East Europe Zone Championships. Austria's Mick Wishofer follows in second with 164 points, with Niki Kresse third on 160.

Besler will next compete at the Castelletto circuit in Italy next week for round two of the Rotax Max Euro Challenge, another series in which the driver represents Turkey. In the opening race in France, Besler was among the top three drivers from five continents.