Young Kazaz Crowned Champion for Second Time

Kerem Kazaz finished second overall on Rally Istanbul on 15-16 November to mathematically secure the Turkish title in the Petrol Ofisi Maxima Turkish Rally Championship with one round of the season still to run. Competing with French co-driver Corentin Silvestre, the 19-year-old Kazaz thus achieved a significant milestone by becoming Turkish Champion for the second year in a row.

Starting Rally Istanbul third overall, the Kazaz-Silvestre crew moved up to second on the second day after their rivals retired, and with the bonus points they scored on the Power Stage they collected 23 points in total. The result secured the championship ahead of the final round of the season, Rally Kocaeli on 6-7 December.

Kazaz also took the Young Drivers and Class 2 wins on Rally Istanbul, as well as the Remed Assistance special award. In the teams classification, which featured five teams, the victory went to Team Petrol Ofisi.

Having followed up his 2024 title by finishing this season as champion too, young driver Kerem Kazaz reflected on the rally and the season: "Competing with the champion's title in my first season with Team Petrol Ofisi, and continuing that with Petrol Ofisi, was an important achievement for me. Although we had problems throughout the season, they taught us a great deal. In the end, they allowed us to secure the championship with one round to go. We didn't come to Rally Istanbul with the aim of becoming champions; we wanted to score good points and go to Kocaeli with an advantage. But the title came at a moment we didn't expect, and I'm very happy for myself and for the team, on behalf of Team Petrol Ofisi."