Fiesta Rally Cup Opens with Fierce Battle
The Fiesta Rally Cup, Turkey's only rally cup, which gives rally enthusiasts the chance to compete as part of a professional team, got under way with the "Aegean Rally" in Izmir on 22-23 April. Fifteen cars from different categories contested the opening round, and the Fiesta R2T crew of Ümitcan Özdemir-Batuhan Memişyazıcı finished first. The Fiesta R2 crew of Cem Alakoç-Yusuf Çelik took second, while brothers Onur Çelikyay-Uğur Çelikyay were third in a Fiesta ST.
Three generations of Ford Fiesta with different technical specifications – the Fiesta ST, Fiesta R2 and Fiesta R2T – compete in the cup, which is supported by Pirelli, Yemekhane, Gürsoy and Mollwax.
Ford Motorsport Türkiye Team Director Serdar Bostancı, who said they had successfully completed the first round of the Fiesta Rally Cup, in which class winners are rewarded as well as the overall classification, commented on the event: "I congratulate our 15 competitors, who fought hard in 3 separate groups in the first round of the Fiesta Rally Cup, which we have been preparing for a long time. Our drivers had access to factory-team-level technical support, spare parts and advice on car set-up. They also tasted for the first time the chance to benefit from all the other opportunities on offer, drawing on the knowledge and experience of Ford's drivers competing abroad. I sincerely believe that the new Fiesta Rally Cup format introduced by Ford Motorsport Türkiye, which has produced many champion drivers in past years, will make an important contribution to the Turkish motorsport community."
The Ford Fiesta rally cars do not only compete in their own dedicated championship, but also take part in the two-wheel-drive (front-wheel-drive) class, which runs as a separate category within the Turkish Rally Championship. In the season-opening Aegean Rally, the crews in Fiesta cars took the top three places in this category, achieving a commanding advantage over their rivals in the two-wheel-drive class with Ford-badged cars. The second round of the Fiesta Rally Cup will continue with the Çanakkale ESOK Rally on 1-2 July.
The standings after the Aegean Rally, the first round of the cup, are as follows:
| Entrant | Points | |
| 1 | Ümitcan Özdemir (R2T) | 18 |
| 2 | Cem Alakoç (R2) | 12 |
| 3 | Onur Çelikyay (ST) | 10 |
| 4 | Özcan Söke (R2T) | 8 |
| 5 | Saipcan Hasbay (ST) | 6 |
| 6 | And Sunman (R2) | 5 |
| 7 | Melih Evranlı (ST) | 4 |
| 8 | Billur Hasbay (ST) | 3 |
| 9 | Emrah Ali Başo (R2) | 2 |
| 10 | Emre Hasbay (R2T) | 2 |
| 11 | İsmet Toktaş (R2T) | 2 |
| 12 | Burak Başlık (R2) | 0 |
| 13 | Kaan Karamaoğlu (R2T) | 0 |
| 14 | Semih Erkal (ST) | 0 |
| 15 | Tansel Karasu (R2) | 0 |
