Ege Asal Metal Begins Season at Biga

The opening hill climb of the 2023 season, sponsored by ICRYPEX, was held on 6-7 May in the Biga district of Çanakkale with the support of Biga Municipality. Özgür Şenyüz and Nusret Bayrakdar competed with Ege Asal Metal backing, in an event that saw 31 competitors take part across the different categories. Round 1 of the AVIS 2023 Turkish Hill Climb Championship, organised by İzmir Motorsporları ve Otomobil Spor Kulübü (İMOK), attracted huge interest from thousands of locals as well as visitors from surrounding provinces and districts, and also brought together motorsport enthusiasts from across the region. On Sunday, over three runs on a course of around six kilometres, Sevcan Sağıroğlu took the Category 1 win in a Ford Fiesta R1 for Atış Motorsports, while Özgür Şenyüz, contesting his first event of the season in Ege Asal Metal colours, began the year with fourth in the national classification and second in the local classification.
Ege Asal Metal's other competitor, Nusret Bayrakdar, missed out on the podium after a false start at the start line cost a one-minute time penalty. Özgür Şenyüz, who took part under the slogan "Don't Forget the Earthquake, We Are With You, My Türkiye" to draw attention to students in the earthquake-affected provinces, also passed on the financial support received from sponsors to students affected by the disaster. In Category 2, Buğra Can Kılıç was the fastest of the day in a Peugeot 208 R2 for GP Garage My Team, while in Category 3 Refik Bozkurt won in a Peugeot 208 Rally4 for Sena Racing. In Category 4, Sinan Soylu of GP Garage My Team started the season with a victory in a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX, also setting the fastest time of the day with 03:42.8. In Category 5, newly added this season, Ertekin Tekneci was first, Ömer Mert Örs second and Burak Söğüt third to share the podium.