Caterham Battle Heats Up the Gulf
The second round of the BOM Akademi Cup, organised by Kocaeli Otomobil Sporları Kulübü KOSDER and promoted by Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport Akademi, took place on 3 June and went down to the wire, with a fierce fight running all the way to the final lap.
In the first race of BOM Akademi round two, which saw 11 cars and 17 competitors take the start, experienced driver Süreyya Saruhan took victory after a big battle with Yaman Yılmaz that lasted until the last lap. The fight for sixth place between experienced driver Cengiz Artam and Alphan Altın throughout the race earned full marks from the spectators. The fight for fourth between Batur Kızıltepe and İsmail Hakkı Erenoğlu, both graduates of the BOM Akademi training programme and racing for the first time, was worthy of praise, as the two young drivers performed superbly among many experienced names. The unluckiest driver of the opening race was Muratcan Eğilmez, winner of the first-round races, who was forced to retire with a technical problem.
In the second race, with the grid set by the result of the first, the day's fastest driver Yaman Yılmaz made a poor start and dropped back to fifth. However, he fought back with bold overtakes on Barkın Bayhan — a BOM Akademi graduate who set the second-fastest times of the day in the last two laps and finished the second race third — and on Güney Altuner, the quick driver known from karting, who completed the race in second. Yılmaz's victory allowed him to collect important points in the cup and take the lead.
Another intriguing battle over the weekend was between father and son Solmaz. Although the young Mert Solmaz was ahead at the flag in the first race, it was the experienced Bülent Solmaz who finished in front in the second. Mert Yılmazoğlu, competing for the first time this year, again scored valuable points thanks to his improving pace every lap and error-free races. The BOM Akademi Cup will continue with races in Izmir on 9 September and 28-29 October.
Standings after two rounds and four races:
1. YAMAN YILMAZ - AHMET ARMAĞAN / 47
2. SÜREYYA SARUHAN - AYTUĞ SAKALLIOĞLU / 41
3. GÜNEY ALTUNER / 38
4. MURATCAN EĞİLMEZ / 34
5. İSMAİL HAKKI ERENOĞLU / 33
6. BATUR KIZILTEPE - BARKIN BAYHAN / 22
7. ALPHAN ALTIN - HALUK EGE / 21
8. CENGİZ ARTAM / 21
9. LEVENT ÖGEL / 20
10. MERT SOLMAZ / 18
11. MERT YILMAZOĞLU / 17
