Bostancı Wins in Çorum
The 43rd Hitit Rally, the seventh and final round of the 2016 Turkish Rally Championship, was held on 28-29 October 2016, organised by the Ankara Otomobil Sporları Kulübü (ANOK) with the support of Çorum Municipality.
With 36 cars and 72 competitors taking the start, the rally began on Friday 27 October with a ceremonial start at Kültürpark, attended by numerous dignitaries including Çorum Governor Necmeddin Kılıç and Çorum Mayor Muzaffer Külcü, followed by the Çorum Municipality spectator stage.
On the second day the action continued on the Ahmediye and Gemed stages in the Çorum Dam area. The rally, with a total length of 157 km and 71 km of special stages, concluded with the Redbull.com Power Stage (bonus stage).
Thirty-one cars reached the finish, with victory going to Murat Bostancı-Onur Vatansever, driving a Ford Fiesta R5 for Castrol Ford Team Türkiye. The Peugeot Sport Türkiye-backed Neo Motorspor crew of Yağız Avcı-Bahadır Gücenmez finished second, while third place went to Orhan Avcıoğlu-Burçin Korkmaz, driving a Ford Fiesta S2000 for Castrol Ford Team Türkiye. Following this rally, Yağız Avcı officially secured the fifth Turkish Rally Championship title of his career.
The rally ended on Saturday evening at the finish podium in front of Çorum Municipality, which drew great public interest. In Class N, the Neo Motorspor crew of Erkan Güral-Burak Koçoğlu, driving a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX, took the class win.
Burak Başlık-Şeyda Gökçen Demir, in a Ford Fiesta R2, won Class 3, while in Class 4 another Castrol Ford Team Türkiye crew, Buğra Banaz-Burak Erdener, took the class win in a Ford Fiesta R2T. In Class 5, Emrah Ali Başo-Gürkal Menderes, driving a Ford Fiesta R1, finished first.
At the end of the two-day battle, the best female co-driver award went to Sevilay Genç, who competed with Ümitcan Özdemir for Castrol Ford Team Türkiye. The best young driver was Buğra Banaz from the same team, and the best young co-driver was Uğurtan Ünal, who competed with Can Altınok.
Historic rally cars continued to defy the years at the Hitit Rally. Among the six historic cars that started, the fastest were Burak Türkkan-Onur Aslan in a Ford Escort MK2 for Parkur Historic, while second place went to Engin Kap-Başar Yavuz, also in a Ford Escort MK2, for Bonus Unifree Parkur Racing.
In the over-35-year-old rally car category, third place went to Yılmaz Köprücü-Özcan Opçin in an Opel Kadett D. In Category 1, Gerçek Sunman-Bahar Sunman were the winning crew in a Murat 131.
In the Yusuf Aramacı Rally Cup, the class wins were shared by Evren Altunlu-Önder Akcengiz in a Fiat Palio in Category 1, Ahmet Keskin-Tuğba Bora in a Peugeot 205 GTI in Category 2, Melih Evranlı-Rüstem Zümrüttepe in a Ford Fiesta ST in Category 3, and Sinan – Şeyma Saatçi in a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IV in Category 4.
