Battle of the Seconds in Eskişehir
The fifth round of the Petrol Ofisi Maxima 2024 Turkish Rally Championship, Rally Eskişehir, organised by the Eskişehir Automobile Sports Club (ESOK) on 13-15 September, came to an end with a podium ceremony in front of Espark.
The demanding rally, in which 59 crews fought over 11 special stages across three days, ended with victory for Kerem Kazaz-Corentin Silvestre, competing for Parkur Racing in a Hyundai i20 N Rally2. Buğra Banaz-Onur Ahıskalı, driving a Skoda Fabia R5 for Toksport WRT, finished second on the podium, with Volkan Işık-Levent Gür, also in a Skoda, third. However, Kazaz was found to have made a jump start on the final stage and received a 10-second penalty, dropping to second by 1.2 seconds and handing the win to Buğra Banaz.
The event, organised with the support of the Eskişehir Governorship, Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality, Tepebaşı Municipality, Odunpazarı Municipality, Spor Toto, ICRYPEX, Petrol Ofisi Maxima, Remed Assistance, Salados, Fora Araç Takip, Power App, Autoclub, ETİ, KYK Yapı Kimyasalları, Nova Vista Deluxe, Espark and Banaz Otomotiv, concluded with the prize-giving ceremony in front of Espark.
In the rally, which 44 crews were able to complete, Orçun Nural-Süleyman Terzioğlu won Class N, Efehan Yazıcı-Mehmet Akif Yalçın took Class 3, Refik Bozkurt-Soner Tamer won the two-wheel-drive category and Class 4, and Sevcan Sağıroğlu-Güray Akgün topped Class 5. Uğur Soylu won the Master drivers' category, while Burcu Çetinkaya-Fabrizia Pons took the ladies' honours. Bozkurt-Tamer also claimed the Remed Assistance stage award.
In the Celal Gülerhan TOSFED Rally Cup, Berkay Erdoğan-Muhammed Mataracı left Eskişehir with victory, while Ömer Gür-Aras Dinçer finished second and Evren Olcay-Yenal Kaya third on the podium.
Hakan Akman-Rahşan Umut Kara in Category 4, Ömer Gür-Aras Dinçer in Category 3, Berkay Erdoğan-Muhammed Mataracı in Category 2 and Faruk Sayın-Cansu Açar in Category 1 were the fastest crews. Açar was also the leading female co-driver, while Hande Erdoğan, competing alongside İbrahim Yılmaz, won the female drivers' category.
The Petrol Ofisi Maxima 2024 Turkish Rally Championship continues with Rally Kocaeli on 4-6 October.
