Diker-Oral Continue TransAnatolia Preparations

TransAnatolia Rally Raid, Turkey's first and only event of its kind and one of the toughest races in the world, will begin in Samsun on 2 September for its 13th edition. Aydın Automobile Sports Club (AYOSK) President Mithat Diker will compete in the car category for the second time this year alongside Erdal Oral. The Mithat Diker-Erdal Oral crew, who have been racing together for 21 years, had a tremendous experience at TransAnatolia last year, when they took part for the first time. Finishing the gruelling event third overall in the car classification and winning Class 2, the crew wrote a remarkable success story. This year the pair will compete in the car class at TransAnatolia in a Suzuki Grand Vitara under Ege Asal Metal sponsorship, and are putting the emphasis on fitness work. Ahead of this 2300-kilometre marathon, which demands enormous endurance, Mithat Diker and Erdal Oral are continuing their fitness training in Sasalı Urban Forest. To stay in shape and build physical strength before the race, the pair cover around 30 kilometres a day by mountain bike on the trails inside the Urban Forest, and sometimes run into difficult moments. Their biggest problem is punctures. In such cases, carrying the bike and repairing the tyre indirectly add to their fitness training. For TransAnatolia's 13th year the route has been created by following the footsteps of the War of Independence. The event will start on 2 September from Samsun, where the national struggle began, and finish in Izmir on 9 September, the anniversary of the city's liberation.