Yağız Avcı Wins Aegean Rally
The opening round of the 2016 Turkish Rally Championship, the Saygılı Rulman Aegean Rally, was organised by the Ege Otomobil Sporları Kulübü on 16-17 April. Starting from outside Forum Bornova at 13:30 on Saturday 16 April, 57 cars and 114 competitors battled over two days on the special stages in the Seferihisar region and on the spectator stage at Izmir Park Racing Circuit. Izmir's motorsport fans followed the rally closely, particularly at the viewing areas set up on the spectator stage and the power stage, and the event concluded on Sunday 17 April in the evening with the finish podium and prize-giving ceremony in front of the Ramada Encore Hotel. In a rally where the stages were run in memory of the late Selim Teoman and Mazhar Demiralp, 44 cars reached the finish.
At the end of the tough two-day rally, Yağız Avcı-Bahadır Gücenmez, who will contest the championship this season in a Peugeot 208 T16 R5 for Neo Motorspor, held on to the lead they took on the first stage until the finish, winning the Saygılı Rulman Aegean Rally by a margin of 40.4 seconds. Second place went to Burak Çukurova-Vedat Bostancı, also in a Peugeot 208 T16 R5, for the newly formed BC Vision Motorspor team, while Orhan Avcıoğlu-Burçin Korkmaz took the final podium place in a Ford Fiesta S2000 for Castrol Ford Team Türkiye. The power stage, introduced this year to increase competition in the championship, was won by Burak Çukurova, with Yağız Avcı second and Orhan Avcıoğlu third, and the crews carried extra points into both the overall and class standings with these results.
A FIERCE FIGHT IN THE CLASSES
The crew of Murat Bostancı-Onur Vatansever, the Turkish Rally Champions of the last two years, competing in a Ford Fiesta R2T for Castrol Ford Team Türkiye, won Class 4 and also drew attention by finishing fourth overall. The class winners were Mustafa Çakal-Mehmet Köleoğlu in Class N in a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX for GP Garage My Team, Ahmet Burkay-Bilge Ayan in Class 3 in a Citroen DS3 R3T for BC Vision Motorspor, and Emrah Ali Başo-Gürkal Menderes in Class 5 in a Ford Fiesta R1 as privateers. The leading female driver was Simin Bıçakcıoğlu, who competed with Serkan Okan for Neo Motorspor, while the leading female co-driver was the TV actress Ecem Çalık, who competed with Fırat Yükselir. The youngest crew in the rally was Can Altınok-Uğurtan Ünal.
HISTORICS DEFY THE YEARS
Under the new rules introduced this year, rally cars over 35 years old now compete mixed in with the national classification, and they continued to defy the years at the Aegean Rally. Of the 10 historic crews that started, the fastest was Engin Kap-Erhan Arıkan in a Ford Escort MK2 for Bonus Unifree Parkur Racing, while second place went to Kemal Gamgam-Orkun Demir, who returned to the rally stages after a short break in a Ford Escort MK2. Third in this class went to Levent Gür-Oytun Albayrak, who began competing in the historic class this year and who also won Category 1. The power stage was won by Engin Kap, with Levent Gür second and Orhan Zümrüt third, and the crews were rewarded separately for these results and carried extra points into the championship.
RALLY MARMARIS IS NEXT
After Izmir, the Turkish Rally Championship will continue on the Aegean coast in May. The Turkey Rally, Turkey's oldest international motorsport event, will be held for the 45th time on 13-15 May, and for the first time in the Marmaris district of Muğla under the name Marmaris Rally Turkey. Alongside the rally, the Marmaris Auto Sport Fest, which also comprises the Marmaris Off-road Race and the Historic Western Anatolia Classic Car Race, will host around 150 vehicles and 300 competitors. In addition to being part of the European Rally Trophy, the rally will award points in the Turkish Rally Championship and the Turkish Historic Rally Championship, and competitors from European countries as well as Turkey will take part.
