Experience Wins Out at Işıktepe

The 2018 İzmir Cup season came to a close on Sunday 4 November with a sprint hill climb. Organised by the Aydın Automobile Sports Club (AYOSK) with Ege Asal Metal as title sponsor in Işıkkent, Bornova, the Işıkkent Sprint Hill Climb was run over two runs on a 2,500-metre gravel course.
The gravel hill climb, held for the first time last year after a long absence, produced fierce competition again this year. In Category 1, Mithat Diker led Kuvvet Erim by two seconds after the first run. On the second run Mithat Diker found another gear, setting a time of 2.04,7 – the fastest of all the drivers – to take the win. The fastest driver of the day, Diker finished second in the 2018 İzmir Cup, while Kuvvet Erim – a Member of Parliament for Aydın who also competes as an active driver – took second place in the event and finished third in Category 1 of the İzmir Cup. Tolga Tezeken, who had already secured the Category 1 title before this event, did not take part.
Young İzmir talent Cem Doğrular, who is studying in Germany, was unable to start this event but still finished the 2018 İzmir Cup as Category 2 champion with a total of 30 points. Alper Akgün, starting in the Cup for the first time, set the fastest time in the category on both runs to take the win. Levent Şapçılar, who had been fourth in Category 2 going into this event, finished the day second and moved up to second in the Cup. Engin Berkan, who struggled with mechanical problems on his car, finished third on the day and in the Cup. Merve Akyıldız, fourth in Category 2, won the Ladies' class. Muzaffer Doğrular, returning to the hill after a long break, gave the youngsters no quarter and won both runs to take Category 3. Eren Durmaz was second, while Şahin Kılıç, starting for the first time, was third. In the İzmir Cup, Bahadır Sevinç finished the season first in this category, with Eren Durmaz second and Levent Ceylan third. Bahadır Sevinç, who had already secured the Category 3 Cup, competed in Category 4 at the Işıkkent hill climb. Sevinç beat rivals who were taking part in an event for the first time to win the class, and also set the second-fastest time of the day. Duhan Alşan was second and Yasin Türkan third.