Turkey's Biggest Rally Heads to Marmaris
The Rally of Turkey, the country's oldest and most established international motorsport event, will be held for the 45th time from 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, comprising 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 Cup, the rally will award points in the Turkish Rally Championship and the Turkish Historic Rally Championship, and will welcome competitors from European countries as well as Turkey.
TWO DAYS OF TOUGH COMPETITION
The event begins with a ceremonial start at 15:30 on Friday 13 May at Marmaris Atatürk Square. The first competitive day then gets under way at 12:00 on Saturday 14 May from the service park to be set up at the İçmeler Market Place. On the opening day, crews will tackle five stages in the area around Asparan and Yeşilbelde, set amid Marmaris's stunning natural scenery, before wrapping up the day at the İçmeler Service Park from 18:00. The second day of the demanding rally, which covers around 400 kilometres including 190 kilometres of special stages, starts at 08:30 on Sunday 15 May. On the second day, crews will take on six stages in the Asparan, Hisarönü and Kufre areas, then fight to reach the finish podium at Marmaris Atatürk Square from 15:00. The stages will be named after Renç Koçibey, Mustafa Koç, Ali Sipahi, Lem'i Tanca and Yusuf Aramacı, doyens of Turkish motorsport who have passed away in recent years.
MARMARIS HOSTS FOR THE FIRST TIME
The rally, organised in Marmaris for the first time by the Turkish Automobile Sports Federation (TOSFED), is being held with the support of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Muğla Governorship, the Regional Forestry Directorate, the Marmaris District Governorship and Marmaris Municipality, and with the sponsorship of Spor Toto, the Southern Aegean Tourist Hoteliers and Operators Association (GETOB), the Marmaris Chamber of Commerce, Fora Araç Takip, Baki Dalyancı and AutoClub.
A KEY TURNING POINT IN THE TURKISH CHAMPIONSHIP
As the longest and highest-coefficient round of the Turkish Rally Championship, the rally is of great importance to Turkish drivers, and the title fight is set to intensify. Championship leaders Yağız Avcı-Bahadır Gücenmez of Neo Motorspor and second-placed Burak Çukurova-Vedat Bostancı of BC Vision Motorsport will battle for the podium with Castrol Ford Team Türkiye's Murat Bostancı-Onur Vatansever and Orhan Avcıoğlu-Burçin Korkmaz in a breathtaking contest. The fight in the classes will be every bit as compelling as the one for the overall classification…
