Aegean Rally Preparations Continue

Organised by the Ege Otomobil Sporları Kulübü, abbreviated as EOSK, the Aegean Rally – Izmir's biggest traditional motorsport event – will be run this season on 4-5 April, based in Seferihisar. Supported by the Izmir Governorship, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality and Seferihisar Municipality, the rally will be contested over two days on a 238-kilometre route, of which 105 kilometres are special stages. Entries open on 16 March. The rally will award points not only to the Shell Helix 2020 Turkish Rally Championship but also to the Turkish Historic Rally Championship and the Şevki Gökerman Rally Cup, and is being organised as a candidate event for the FIA European Rally Cup. Around 60 crews are expected to take part, with the start and finish at Sığacık Teos Marina, rally headquarters at the Angora Beach Resort Hotel and, as last year, the service park at the Seferihisar Pazar Yeri. With the fight at the top expected to be tougher than it has been in years, the season-opening rally will feature seven R5 cars of very similar pace, promising spectators moments full of excitement and adrenaline.
For the first time, under 'different tents' and in what can be considered equal conditions, the reigning champion Murat Bostancı in a Ford Fiesta R5 for Castrol Ford Team Türkiye, five-time Turkish Rally Champion Yağız Avcı in a Skoda Fabia R5 for the newly formed Adus Motorsport, two-time Turkish Rally Champion Burak Çukurova – whose name has been linked back and forth between the Skoda Fabia and the VW Polo – for BC Vision Motorsport, and Orhan Avcıoğlu in a Skoda Fabia R5 for Toksport WRT, well-practised from his European Championship campaign, will take to the stages. Besides these four drivers, Uğur Soylu in a Skoda Fabia R5 for Adus Motorsport and two 'young' drivers – one in a Skoda, the other in a Ford, whose names we do not consider it ethical to share as no official announcement has yet been made – will also be declaring that they are in the fight for the top.
In the Shell Helix 2020 Turkish Rally Championship, as well as the battle at the top, a big fight is expected in Class N, where the number of entries has risen considerably this season, and in the youth classification, where the age limit has been raised to 28. In addition, the two-wheel-drive battle between the Ford Fiestas and Fiat Egeas last season will heat up even further this year with the arrival of the Renault Clios. The new-generation Renault Clios, built at the Oyak factory in Bursa, will compete among themselves as a cup under the Renault Sport Türkiye banner and organised by Toksport WRT, adding a new colour to the stages while also looking set to intensify the competition in the two-wheel-drive classification. In short, the first weekend of April promises motorsport fans a colourful contest and big surprises in Izmir. Those who cannot attend can follow the excitement of the Shell Helix 2020 Turkish Rally Championship through live broadcasts on TRTSPOR2.