Çukurova Victorious at Aegean Rally
The 30th Aegean Rally, round four of the Shell Helix 2021 Turkish Rally Championship, took place in Seferihisar, Izmir, on 16-17 October. The rally began on Saturday 16 October with a start ceremony attended by Seferihisar District Governor Naci Aktaş, TOSFED President Eren Üçlertoprağı and TOSFED Vice President Orhan Birdal, and heavy rain made life difficult for the crews as the event produced a fierce fight.
Organised by the Aegean Automobile Sports Club (EOSK), the rally saw 76 crews take the start. The BC Vision Motorsport crew of Burak Çukurova-Vedat Bostancı finished the Aegean Rally in first place by 10.1 seconds, claiming their second win of the season in Izmir. Second place went to Ümit Can Özdemir-Batuhan Memişyazıcı of Castrol Ford Team Türkiye in a Ford Fiesta R5, while Buğra Banaz-Gürkal Menderes of BC Vision Motorsport completed the rally third overall in a Skoda Fabia R5. Castrol Ford Team Türkiye took the manufacturers' win, while BC Vision Motorsport won the teams' classification.
The class winners were Efe Albağlar-Ersin Ören of GP Garage in Class N, Emre Hasbay-Burak Erdener of Castrol Ford Team Türkiye in 2WD and Class 4, Erol Akbaş-Egemen Dural of the same team in Class 3, and Mehmet Besler-Egemen Ertük of Clio Rally Trophy Turkey in Class 5. The rally's best young driver was Emre Hasbay of Castrol Ford Team Türkiye, the best young co-driver was Alperen Tetik, who competed with Gürol Baranlı, the best female driver was Özlem Uludağ Gülcan in a Nissan Micra, and the best female co-driver was Asena Sancaklı, who competed with Tuncer Sancaklı in the Clio Rally Trophy Turkey.
In the Turkish Historic Rally Championship class, open to classic rally cars over 35 years old, Üstün Üstünkaya-Kerim Tar of Parkur Racing once again won both the overall classification and Category 2. Second place went to Levent Gür, competing for the first time with son Ömer Gür. The father-and-son crew, driving a Murat 131, also took the Category 1 win. Third in the Historic class went to Gerçek Sunman-Bahar Sunman in a Murat 131.
In the Şevki Gökerman Rally Cup class, the Izmir crew of Ayhan Germirli-Mustafa Nazik won in a Ford Fiesta R1 for Castrol Ford Team Türkiye, also taking the Category 3 win. Okan Tanrıverdi-Sevilay Genç finished second in this class in a Ford Fiesta R2, also winning Category 2 and moving into the lead of the cup.
Third overall in the Şevki Gökerman Rally Cup went to the Eskişehir crew of Ateş Berberoğlu-Elif Sarıkaya in a Peugeot 208 R2, while the Category 1 and Category 3 wins went to Kemal Çetinkaya-Ünsal Deniz of Izmir in a Ford Fiesta R1 and Mehmet Gökseven-Bahadır Özcan of Bursa in a Ford Fiesta ST respectively.
The crews covered 254.68 km over two days, racing against the clock on eight special stages. The demanding rally ended on the evening of Sunday 17 October with a prize-giving ceremony on the finish podium at Sığacık Teos Marina, attended by Seferihisar District Governor Naci Aktaş, Seferihisar District Police Chief Temel Salman, Seferihisar District Gendarmerie Commander Captain Abdülkadir Şimşek and Seferihisar District Youth and Sports Director Arzu Yıldırım Toğrul.
The Shell Helix 2021 Turkish Rally Championship continues with Rally Kocaeli on 13-14 November, organised by the Kocaeli Automobile Sports Club (KOSDER).
