Diker - Oral on the Podium at TransAnatolia

TransAnatolia, organised with the support of the Turkish Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Turkish Automobile Sports Federation and the Turkey Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA), took place from 2-9 September. Created especially for the 100th anniversary of the Republic and following the trail of the War of Independence, the 2,350 km route passed through 17 provinces. At the end of the tough event, the Ege Asal Motor Spor crew of Mithat Diker - Erdal Oral finished fourth overall and second in their class in the car category. Their trophies were presented at the awards ceremony held at the İzmir International Fair by FIA Women in Motorsport Commission member Beyza Avcıoğlu. TransAnatolia Rally Raid began on Saturday 2 September with a ceremonial start in Samsun. On Sunday 3 September, the opening stage of the event was cancelled because of flooding in Samsun. The rally got under way the same day with the second stage, where competitors completed the 122-kilometre Strabon stage in Amasya. After spending the night at the campsite in Tokat, the competitors covered a total of 216 kilometres on Monday 4 September over the Tokat and Kösedağ stages. Having overnighted in the city where the Sivas Congress was held, the crews tackled a total of 218 kilometres on the Çayıralan and Felahiye stages in Sivas on the morning of Tuesday 5 September, before finishing the day at the campsite in Göreme, Nevşehir. In a rally featuring 125 competitors, 43 of them foreign, and 84 vehicles across the Motorcycle, Quad, SSV, Car and Truck categories, AYOSK club president Mithat Diker and founding president Kuvvet Erim were in the top three in the car category at the end of the third round. Starting the fourth day in second place, Mithat Diker - Erdal Oral struggled with mechanical problems on the Tuz Gölü stage. First their driveshafts broke and they completed the stage in two-wheel drive, then in the regular stage the crew suffered a gearbox problem but fought hard to reach the end of the round. Losing more than an hour to mechanical problems in this round and picking up a large number of waypoint penalties, the crew slipped to fifth overall at the end of the fourth round. Hüseyin Kurt - Mert Tepe moved up to third. After the driveshaft broke on their car in the Tuz Gölü stage, Mithat Diker - Erdal Oral continued the rally in two-wheel drive. Although they took second place in the fifth round, the time lost in the fourth round left them fifth in the overall classification. Ahead of them was the round winner, Andrew Wicklow - Tom Wicklow. Mithat Diker - Erdal Oral made a fast start to Friday 8 September, setting the fastest time of 1 hour 15 minutes on the "Süvarinin İzinde" stage to take the stage win. The British crew of Andrew Wicklow - Tom Wicklow were second, just 49 seconds behind. In Dumlupınar, the 13th special stage of the rally, the British crew won this time, with Murat Kamil Altun - Tuvana Sayar second and Hüseyin Kurt - Mert Tepe third, five seconds further back. The 13th TransAnatolia Rally Raid, which started in Samsun on 2 September, concluded with a trophy ceremony in İzmir. The 2,350-kilometre event, which featured 122 competitors from 13 countries, 44 of them foreign, in 83 vehicles, including professional factory teams, ended with the İzmir stage. After the stage, a ceremony was held at the Kültürpark Fair Area, attended by İzmir Metropolitan Mayor Tunç Soyer. At the end of the tough event, Mithat Diker - Erdal Oral finished fourth overall and second in their class in the car category.