Ford Motorsport Türkiye Celebrates Its Successes
Ford Motorsport Türkiye, which proudly flew the Turkish flag in the World Rally Championship in 2018 and won the Turkish Rally Teams' Championship for the 12th time, bade farewell to a year of achievements with an end-of-year party.
The end-of-season celebration took place at the Ford Motorsport Türkiye garage in Maslak and was attended by Turkish Automobile Sports Federation (TOSFED) President Eren Üçlertoprağı, Ford Otosan General Manager Haydar Yenigün and Ford Otosan Deputy General Manager for Marketing, Sales and After Sales Özgür Yücetürk, as well as the team's drivers, senior executives from the team's sponsors and TOSFED representatives.
Yenigün: "We want to see our young drivers compete in the WRC and achieve success at the pinnacle of motorsport"
Speaking at the event, Ford Otosan General Manager Haydar Yenigün stressed that the successes delivered by Ford Motorsport Türkiye will be remembered for years to come and are a milestone in the history of motorsport, saying: "With a vision that supports our corporate agenda and our long-term plans, we aspire to see our young drivers compete in the World Rally Championship and achieve success at the very top of motorsport. In that respect, Buğra Banaz's sixth place among 16 drivers in Junior WRC, the World Rally Championship's category for young drivers, last year is extremely valuable. It is a source of pride for us to help our Turkish drivers develop in motorsport, where competition is at its highest level internationally. I am also proud that the driver of our Ford Trucks F-MAX tractor unit, which we launched globally at the end of 2018 and which won the International Truck of the Year award, is part of our team, whose mechanics are entirely domestic. Motorsport has been an unending passion for us for years, and I wholeheartedly congratulate our Ford Motorsport Türkiye team, led by Team Director Serdar Bostancı, who has delivered countless successes and firsts, as well as our drivers, the competitors racing under the Fiesta Rally Cup banner and all the technical crew who contributed, on their achievements."
Yücetürk: "They have added new horizons to our country's vision in motorsport"
Ford Otosan Deputy General Manager for Marketing, Sales and After Sales Özgür Yücetürk said: "Ford Motorsport Türkiye, which has left no trophy unwon in Turkish motorsport and is truly the team of firsts after achieving many firsts in Europe, was crowned in the 2017 season with the European Teams' Championship, the greatest success in the history of Turkish motorsport, thanks to the consistent support that Ford Otosan and our sponsors have given to motorsport for 22 years. In 2018, thanks to our Federation's intensive efforts, the WRC returned to our country after a long break with Rally Turkey in Marmaris, and our crew also competed in the European rounds in Portugal, France and Finland, adding brand new horizons to our country's vision in motorsport. The 12th Turkish Rally Championship teams' title we won last year is the fruit of the consistent investment we have made in motorsport for many years, and it is a great source of pride for us to celebrate these achievements together with our team, you, our esteemed members of the press, our sponsors and our Federation representatives. On behalf of the Ford Otosan family, we congratulate our Ford Motorsport Türkiye team, all of our drivers and our hard-working crew members for giving us these successes after yet another successful season, and we thank all our sponsors for their support."
Ford Motorsport Türkiye Team Director Serdar Bostancı gave his assessment: "As Ford Motorsport Türkiye, after earlier major successes such as the Eastern European Championship, the Eastern European Cup and Turkey's first European Rally Teams' Championship in 2017, we set our sights on the world after Europe with the World Rally Championship in 2018. In 2018 we proudly flew our flag on the world's toughest stages in the WRC. However, this is an undertaking that requires a long-term work plan and motivation. In 2018 we warmed up to the World Rally Championship. Our greatest desire is to make our country's name heard in the World Rally Championship in the coming years and to celebrate successes never achieved before. In addition, as a team that has brought many young drivers to our country so far, I would like to share with you the good news of our 'Young Drivers Rally Academy' project, which we will position as our country's motorsport university and whose details we will share in the coming days. I would like to thank once again all the sponsors who believe in us and support us, above all our team's drivers and crew members."
