Denizli Gets Its First Taste of Off-Road Racing
The "Birsen Çelik" round of the 2015 ANDOFF Ankara Cup, the second race of the series, took place in Denizli's Bozkurt district under municipal sponsorship and was run off as a successful event.
Organised with the support of Denizli Bozkurt Municipality, the Denizli Nature Sports and Off-road Club (DENDOFF) and the Ankara Off-road Club (ANDOFF), the race was held on the natural course at Bozkurt's Poligon area. 25 vehicles and 50 competitors from various cities across Turkey took part.
The race began with a ceremony in the town centre attended by all the competitors, and the start was given by Bozkurt Mayor Birsen Çelik. After the ceremony, which the public attended with applause, the competitors headed to the natural race course about 2 km from the town. On the 6.5 km course, which featured 20 gates, the drivers completed 3 laps and finished the race after 4 starts.
Run with the warm hospitality of Bozkurt Municipality, the race was fiercely contested. The drivers kept up the fight right to the end, battling relentlessly on the dusty course with its many obstacles, while the people of Bozkurt, who showed great interest in the race, enjoyed watching it in a picnic atmosphere.
Speaking about the "Birsen Çelik Round", which bears her name, Mayor Birsen Çelik said they would spare no sacrifice in promoting Bozkurt, and continued her speech with enthusiasm: "We witnessed a wonderful event and we are ready to do anything to promote our Bozkurt. We will give every kind of support to promote our town across Turkey. I thank all the competitors who came from every region of Turkey to take part in our race, and I send greetings to the cities they came from. I will not forget the contribution of ANDOFF and its officials, who brought years of experience to the race in Bozkurt and delivered another excellent event, nor that of DENDOFF, the distinguished club of our Denizli."
ANDOFF President Muharrem Çelik, whose club is one of the most experienced in the country, also commented on the race: "As a club, we are ready to hold races anywhere in Turkey, and we are trying to pass on our years of experience to all off-road clubs in Turkey. Last year we ran a round of the Turkish Off-road Championship in Alanya flawlessly, and now we have completed this race thanks to the meticulous efforts of our Bozkurt Mayor, Birsen Çelik. We are ready for every kind of cooperation to spread off-road sport across all parts of our country."
DENDOFF President Hüseyin Uyar, whose club hosted the race, said: "With ANDOFF's years of experience and the unforgettable support of our Bozkurt Mayor Birsen Çelik, we have held a race that will be talked about for a long time in Denizli and in Turkey. Our fellow townspeople had the chance to watch an event held for the first time in Bozkurt on a lovely Sunday. We learned a great deal from this race and we want to keep holding events like this."
According to the results announced at the end of the race, the crew of İsmail Ayhan and Cemal Akagündüz took the winner's trophy, while Mustafa Özgiray and İhsan Güneş finished second, and Yunus Ayhan and Bilal Karamemiş, last year's Ankara Cup winners, completed the podium in third.
