"We Have Made Happen the Things That Were Never Done"

Serkan Yazıcı, who has served motorsport as TOSFED President since bringing his competitive career to a close, is making a name for himself with a range of distinctive and successful projects.

Turkmotorspor.com writer Mert Yılmaz put a wide range of questions to him, from the World Rally Championship returning to our country this year to investment in young talent, and President Yazıcı answered them candidly.

If you're ready, fasten your seat belts – a long interview awaits…

Mert Yılmaz: First of all, let's talk about the World Rally Championship returning to our country. How did this process develop?
Serkan Yazıcı: First of all, I should say that when we took over, the state of the federation was plain for all to see. I don't want to play the "we inherited a wreck" card, but it is something the Turkish motorsport community knows well anyway. The federation had only 15,000 TL of sponsorship income, and one company was supplying five cars. That is what we took over; there were many debts, and money owed to the officials that had gone unpaid for four years. While we were making plans for how to get motorsport back on its feet, we thought that first of all we needed to bring an international event to our country. Because we needed to build momentum again. But of course our budgets were very limited. So we said (I had been saying this before) that the roads around Marmaris are very well suited to this, very suitable for rallying, so let's run an event there and at least see whether it reaches the quality we want… In 2016 we ran a rally in Marmaris and it genuinely went very well. After many years, it was one of the events that both drivers and spectators enjoyed the most. At that time we went to Monaco to meet WRC Promoter GmbH Managing Director Oliver Ciesla. When we first met, they said "impossible" and even told us outright "you can't do it". Later, through our persistence, we explained that we could run the event. They said, fine, work on it and do it… We really put a lot of thought into it and prepared the most compact rally the world has ever seen. We said that in terms of kilometres it would be the most compact event in your history. At first they couldn't believe it, but we kept up our relationship. Of course, a serious budget was required. We conveyed the situation to our President. When he said fine, bring it, we prepared all our paperwork and submitted it to the Ministry of Sports, and they approved it too. So we secured the event for 2017 and signed in Barcelona. But at that time there were problems such as Turkey's image on the international stage being portrayed wrongly. For that reason it didn't pass the Motor Sport Council and they gave us a rejection. When the rejection came, of course, we were in shock. We signed at the end of November, the council met in December, and when we were turned down our morale dropped badly... In the period afterwards we never damaged our relationships, we even reassured them. However low our spirits were, we set our sights on a year later. Because we had told our President and our ministers that we had secured it… Our one stroke of luck was this: we had made a three-year agreement. So even if it couldn't be held for one year, we had that right for the following year. This time they told us "you have to run a candidate event". As the candidate event we chose Marmaris, because the previous year had gone so successfully. As a result it was the best event we had ever run. In 2017 we ran a candidate event in Marmaris again, and we prepared for it in only 21 days. I congratulate every single member of my team here. They ran a flawless event, there wasn't even a minute's delay, and so everyone was very happy. That is how we secured the event for 2018. The World Rally Championship is coming to our country on 12-16 September. So of course we are very excited. We reached this result thanks to our hard work, the strength of our relationships with people and the support of our state.
MY: The compactness of the rally is one of its biggest advantages…
SY: Yes, it is very compact. When I became president, I promised myself I would try to do properly the things I criticised back when I was a driver. The idea of organising a compact rally came from that. Before us there were problems with sponsors, they were alienated, and we are dealing with the difficulties of that right now. That is why, whatever happens in 2018, we are doing everything we can to run a very good rally, so that at least the competitors and spectators say "wow, what a rally" and take an interest. We are working with all our strength. Three stages will be viewable from a boat. After the Monaco GP, it is perhaps the first event that can be watched from a boat. In that respect it is very exciting too. Let me say this: the WRC organisers are even more excited than we are about the event in Marmaris. Most recently FIA Safety Delegate Michèle Mouton came and signed off the final checks. A newspaper also interviewed her, and she has very positive views about Turkey. In the end they never put us under pressure. So either we are very good or somehow God is helping us. When they come, we don't receive any significant criticism. The results of their inspections always come back good. Entries will also be very high, because it's not only WRC but WRC2 and WRC3 drivers who will come to Turkey. It is a hugely important event for promoting our country. As I said, there is a mistaken perception of Turkey in Europe and America, and their media fuels it. With big events like this coming to Turkey, that perception will be wiped away completely. I'm not talking only about the WRC; I think every kind of support should be given so that similar events come to our country. Our state is already taking the necessary steps on this.

MY: International events coming to our country is very important, but spectators also want to see Turkish drivers competing against foreigners. What are you doing on this front?
SY: That is already the most important detail. We are trying to do things that have perhaps never been done in the history of Turkey. Since I come from a driving background, I have seen how all the federations work. There are athletes our federation is supporting right now. Last year we supported many of our athletes. Right now we see a future in circuit racing. There are very young and talented drivers. First of all I can name Ayhancan Güven, Ali Türkkan and Berkay Besler. Of course there is also a young generation coming up behind them. So we believe there is a future in circuit racing. We want Ayhancan to compete in the Porsche Supercup, which runs before the Formula 1 races, and become world champion. Of course, in those categories you can only get anywhere with major sponsorship or state support. If we can find the necessary support within two years, I believe Ayhancan will really become world champion. We are trying to find this support; for example, Spor Toto provides very important backing, and Ayhancan also has a couple of sponsorship talks under way. Even this championship alone would be a very important achievement, but there is also a chance of making a further jump from there, because his age is very young. If he can achieve this at 20, I think we could have a driver capable of racing in Formula 1... MY: Besides your support for young drivers who are already racing, what projects do you have for those who want to start this sport?
SY: As we said, we have always brought to life the things that weren't being done, and we plan to keep doing so. I started racing at 17 but only managed to get into a team at 27. So for me those 10 years were completely lost. I'm sure that in those 10 years I could have overtaken everyone in Turkey. If I had received the necessary support, I could even have done so at 19 or 20. Because I know this well, what did we do? Together with Fiat we developed a project called TOSFED Is Looking for a Star, and we did it free of charge. Some say, "You say it's free, but you take 500 TL." There is a reason we take that 500 TL. First of all, it is the licence fee. We could have not charged it, but then we would have had to make a selection among 10,000 people. We also needed to test the belief and desire of those taking part in the selection. So we said, if someone who wants to be a racing driver truly believes in themselves, they will find that 500 TL somehow and enter. In the end, we refund the licence fees to the 12 people who qualify to race. After 4 races, our first star emerged last month and the cup was won by Onat Telkenar. I went to the latest races myself, watched them and chatted with them. It is very important that such an opportunity has been given to such young kids. In reality, for now they are not really aware of what such an opportunity means. Onat Telkenar and the other two young drivers on the podium, Emre Şentürk and Mert Kaya, will compete in six races in the Fiat Egea Youth Cup this year. If they show what they can do, and take drivers like Yağız Avcı, Murat Bostancı or Ayhancan Güven as examples, a path will have opened up in front of them. This year there were 350 applications to the TOSFED Is Looking for a Star project, the selections will be held at Körfez at the end of July and our second star will emerge. As well as racing in the Fiat team, we will take Onat abroad for ice driving training. Can Tolon, who won the Champions' Championship, was entitled to something similar, as you know. So we are trying to do everything we can for the youngsters. With some special PR work, we are doing our best to get these kids noticed. In the end, a federation's primary duty is to develop athletes.

MY: What are you doing to attract sponsors and brands to the sport?
SY: This is a process. I have said from the start that you have to climb the steps one by one. In the end, in the first year we tried to get a wreck back on its feet, in the second year we are signing for an international event. In the third year something will definitely come. When you climb these steps one by one, brands will also enter the sport. If they see something of their own in motorsport, there is no reason for them not to come. The position of the clubs is very important here. When clubs are strong, there will be an opportunity to run better events. And good events will draw high entries. When brands get involved somewhere, they first look at the quality of those events. That is why we need to increase the number of high-quality events. Of course I'm not just talking about rallying. If you ask me, Turkey's rising star is drifting. In terms of drivers too, my number one is circuit racing, because that is where I see hope right now. Of course, from off-road we could also produce drivers capable of doing the Dakar. I wish we could have drivers who could become world champions in rallying too. Young drivers like Yağız Avcı, Murat Bostancı, Orhan Avcıoğlu and Buğra Banaz are already competing in the WRC and ERC right now.
MY: What kind of support does TOSFED give to the clubs?
SY: Since we arrived we have been giving the clubs every kind of support. First, we support them financially. Second, even the TOSFED Is Looking for a Star project is important support for the clubs. Because let's say you live in Trabzon and there is a club in Trabzon. You go to this club and say, "Brother, I want to be a racing driver." How was it in the past? This youngster, especially if he had no money, would be told, "What business do you have here, don't bother with this." But now the club president, a manager or anyone connected to the club can direct that kid to the TOSFED Is Looking for a Star project. The clubs now have an argument they can use: if you're successful, you'll carry on there anyway. This is far more important than money. Because if a club doesn't have the strength to put a young kid in a race car, what will it say? You need to enter a cup, but I'd have to pay this much… The cheapest one-make cup is 10-20 thousand euros. TOSFED Is Looking for a Star is 500 TL, that is 100 euros, a thousandth of those cups. So when young people join this programme, if they are genuinely good, they have a chance of becoming racing drivers. And that becomes an important opportunity the federation provides to the clubs. Aside from this, I can say that I have a very good relationship with 95 per cent of our club presidents.

MY: What are you doing to attract spectators to circuits and courses?
SY: The WRC was held in Turkey before too, but they signed off on senseless things like charging admission to the stages. All of that was wrong. What comes of the money from it? At our event, entry to all the stages is free; not only do we not ask for money, we think about what more we can add. I tell all the club presidents: get catering from a food company in return for sponsorship, take soft drinks from the soda maker, and share these facilities with the spectators too. Money doesn't necessarily have to go into your coffers. This system has started to settle in over time and has created excitement. So we are doing everything we can to get spectators to come. We are laying on free buses from city centres. To increase spectator numbers, events need to be taken to Anatolia a bit more. Believe me, in places like Istanbul and Bursa there is no longer interest on this scale. Of course, unless you organise an event inside the city… Events need to go to Anatolia. You remember how much interest the V1 Challenge's city events in Anatolian cities attracted. But even when there was that much interest, there was always a problem with sponsors. Unfortunately, motorsport isn't accepted in Turkey. The biggest reason for this is that during a race the person who crashes makes bigger news than the one who wins. In reality this is such a big loss for our country. All the R&D is here. One of my dreams is to supply spare parts to universities, have them build cars, and race our best drivers in those cars. Of course these projects also need to be supported by brands; they are not easy things. When you look at it, racing is development, racing is R&D. People think, he passed him, he passed that one… In reality the one who gets the set-up right wins the race. The one who uses the best-quality tyre comes out on top in the fight.

MY: Speaking of tyres, the Petlas example comes to mind…
SY: Yes, they have started supporting motorsport. Petlas really does make very good tyres and, as you know, it is Turkey's tyre. I visited their factories; the tyres Petlas produces are genuinely of a high standard. But when you look at it, for Petlas to be able to tell its story it needs to be a tyre brand that wins races, because it competes with the world's giants. Then there would be a very different perception of the brand. So making a good tyre isn't enough. You also have to win in certain fields. If you look at it that way, there are many fashion designers today; if they thought like that, none of them would stage a fashion show. You have to put the product you make right in front of people's eyes. And that can only be done through motor racing. Petlas has gradually started getting involved, they are developing a racing tyre, but I want to see them fully involved and I follow their work with admiration. I hope they succeed, because they will benefit too. It will benefit our athletes and Turkey as well, but if they succeed, they will first of all gain an important image boost for their own company.
MY: You said circuit racing is your first priority in terms of drivers. Will new circuits be built?
SY: In all the developed countries of the world, even small towns have a circuit. As a country we have no right to say: don't let people speed on the streets, in the city… What have we done to stop these people driving fast on the streets? So we need to have a circuit in every province. In fact, this is how it is done around the world: they have built these circuits in less-developed provinces. We should have them in Urfa, Mardin, Rize and Konya too. In places like these, 1.5-2.0 km circuits are built, people come, and on certain days they live their passion for speed there from morning to evening. They put their foot down in their own cars, race cars and rental cars, and satisfy these feelings in a safe environment. To put it bluntly, society needs to let off steam; whoever wants to drive fast goes to the circuit… Now you look and wonder how Ankara could possibly not have a circuit. Can that be right? In Ankara people race on the streets, and you keep wondering how we can stop these races. We can't stop it. The man races, he has that spirit inside him. We have to build these people a circuit. If there is a circuit in Ankara, they will go there, put their foot down in their car or on their motorcycle, enjoy themselves and go home. It's that simple.
MY: As far as we know, Kenan Sofuoğlu has a circuit project in Düzce…
SY: Yes, he is working on it right now. Kenan is of course a huge stroke of luck for us. I admire both Kenan's career and his character very much, and we get on very well. Because Kenan has also entered parliament, I believe he will do very useful things for motorsport. At the very least there will be someone to explain our concerns. Because it is very difficult to explain this to society. When you say racing, everyone is afraid; they have been made afraid. It's not like that elsewhere in the world; go to a German and he isn't afraid of racing. The British and the French know racing well. Why? Because they know what racing is: it is how their brand opens up to the world. It is Porsche showing itself to the world. It is Sébastien Ogier promoting his country. They are proud of this. With us it has always developed along the lines of let's suppress these feelings, let them not race. I hope these attitudes will be overcome in time. There is nothing wrong with the way we think, because the world has been doing it this way for a long time.
MY: Does TOSFED have any work on road safety?
SY: Yes, we are putting our name to social responsibility projects on road safety. Our Women's Committee organises them. They ran a project called "How Is the Parent's Report Card?" I congratulate them on this; they pulled it off with great effort. The child watches the parent's driving and gives their mother or father a mark for whether they did it right or wrong. This supports both the child's development and makes parents more careful. I think it is a superb social responsibility project. It needs to be spread across the whole of Turkey... In addition, in another project we run jointly with Fiat Motorsport, we go to universities and give students advanced and defensive driving technique training.
MY: As far as I know, you have also been elected to the FIA World Motor Sport Council…
SY: Yes, being elected to this council is a great source of pride for us. Being there is a source of pride not only for me but for our country too. Can you imagine, every decision about motorsport worldwide reaches its conclusion through your vote. That is a very important thing, but being able to stay there, to be useful, and to speak on behalf of Turkey in that environment matters too. They gave me a role, making me President of Karting for Eastern Europe. It isn't a subject I know much about at all, but because I have always believed in karting, I think we will be able to achieve something. When we have karting projects inside Turkey, we will be able to raise them there too. Being on the Motor Sport Council is very important both for representing our country there and for learning things. As you know, FIA President Jean Todt is a legendary name in this sport; everything that comes out of his mouth is an event. So we are broadening our vision there. There is a project I want to present at the FIA. I think a competition of flags is very important. A child racing under the Turkish flag, young people racing under the Italian and French flags… My dream is this: there are 80 countries, is that right? Let everyone send their fastest driver, let them be eliminated among themselves, and let them race under their flags in equal cars. That would be very exciting. Because a Turk succeeding in Formula 1 or the WRC is a very long-term project. But here, in a championship where flags compete, in a contest broadcast by giants like Eurosport, we could succeed. Being there would bring us great benefit. In the end, there is nobody we can't reach at the FIA. Even the owner of Formula 1 comes and gives us information. So we can turn this into a benefit for our country...MY: You are a champion who came up through rallying, but recently you have shown great interest in drifting. What do you think about this branch of motorsport?
SY: I admire the drifting drivers in our country, because they have a tremendous bond and a wonderful atmosphere of friendship. You wouldn't see the crowd at the prize-giving of a drifting event today even if all the teams of the Turkish Rally Championship got together. Apart from that, it is very spectacular, satisfies the spectators, and is a discipline with a lot of spectators... For these reasons, in my view drifting is a rising star. But unfortunately there is not a single drift track in Turkey, which is so sad. From here I appeal to all the municipalities, with municipal elections also approaching. Let them build one; there's no need for a very large area. A site of 40-50 decares is enough. Every event will draw 5-10 thousand people, there will be an incredible spectator capacity. But it is hard to convince people about this, because for us it's all about football... In the end, if they built it they would see the difference. We need to put our name to better things with drifting. Among my dreams during my presidency is to bring one or two drift tracks to Turkey and even to produce a world champion. Drag racing is also a branch that attracts a lot of interest, but likewise we have no track. We keep coming back to the same subject: Turkey's only problem today is that it has no circuits... We are currently working on a model project. Our Governor of Kocaeli, whom I thank again through you, is taking an interest in this project. We will hand the area where the Körfez Race Circuit stands to the municipality. They have promised us a track at a separate location. If we manage this, alongside a normal race circuit it will also include drag, drift, karting and off-road areas. We are aiming for a sports complex that houses all of them. Big grandstands don't matter that much to us; these things are developed as people's interest grows over time. What we ask of our state or our municipalities is that they allocate us land for a circuit, provide the asphalt and build the paddock area. We will organise services such as spectator areas, grandstands and catering... This will be a model circuit. The idea that we built just one and there will be no follow-up is wrong. If that were so, there would be no point...

MY: Finally, what would you like to say?
SY: Our concern is to move this sport forward, and we are working with all our strength for it. In the end, there is nothing in motorsport that bothers me. When you look, the number of our events is rising. Drivers, cars, teams and brands are increasing. That makes me very happy. Beyond that, I am very proud that our young athletes are coming to the fore. I am pleased that we are giving opportunities to young people who want to do this sport. In short, it is very important to me that there is no atmosphere of unrest within the sport. In the end, when we look at the sport as a whole today, there is harmony. At least nobody has a question mark in their mind, I can feel that. I thank the entire community and our state for supporting us, from motorsport fans to our teams, our marshals, our athletes and our sponsors…