Who Will Have the Last Laugh in Istanbul?
The Orhan Yüce 46th Istanbul Rally will play host to a fierce battle, as it decides the 2026 champions and class winners. The weather looks clear on the opening day of the rally, but rain on Sunday will make life considerably harder for the crews.
Ahead of the Orhan Yüce 46th Istanbul Rally, the Turkish Champion of the last two years, Kerem Kazaz, goes head to head with Uğur Soylu, who has been competing for 23 years but has never won the Turkish Championship.
BEST 6 RESULTS FROM 7 EVENTS RULE
As stated under the Championships and Points heading of the TOSFED 2026 Rally Regulations, the 6 (six) best results from the 7 (seven) events count towards the championship classification. For that reason, although Uğur Soylu currently leads by 23 points, once his lowest score, the 13 points from Rally Bodrum, is dropped, the gap is actually down to 10.
WHO WILL LUCK FAVOUR?
If Kerem Kazaz wins both the rally and the bonus stage at the Istanbul Rally and takes 30 points, Soylu must finish in the top 3 and score more than 20 points in Istanbul. That depends on him finishing in the top two overall and on the extra points he can pick up by finishing the final stage in the top 3...
ÇUKUROVA IS IN THE MIX TOO
Another name with a mathematical chance of the title is BC Vision Motorsport's three-time Turkish Rally Champion Burak Çukurova. Çukurova, who will be in the driving seat alongside Burak Akçay, who secured the 2026 co-driver title after Rally Kocaeli, goes into Istanbul level on points with Kerem, though he too has 10 points that would have to be dropped in the current picture.
THE PODIUM FIGHT WILL BE HOT
Besides Kazaz, Soylu and Çukurova, Hüseyin Çetmen, who competes in a Citroen C3 Rally2, and Ercan Kazaz, who is celebrating his 40th year, stand out as drivers who will make their presence felt in the podium fight, along with GP Garage My Team's two Skoda Fabia drivers Eytan Halfon and Çağlayan Çelik, and Castrol Ford Team Türkiye's 18-year-old new star Can Alakoç...
Petrol Ofisi Maxima 2026 Turkish Rally Championship Standings
1. Uğur SOYLU … 127
2. Kerem KAZAZ … 104
3. Burak ÇUKUROVA … 104
4. Çağlayan ÇELİK … 55
5. Eytan HALFON … 54
6. Ali TÜRKKAN … 52
7. Hüseyin ÇETMEN … 46
8. Can ALAKOÇ … 35
9. Efe Can ÜNVER … 32
10. Reha AYBEY … 18
WINNER OF THE TOSFED CUP ALREADY DECIDED
In the Behiç Yurdaçalışan 2026 TOSFED Rally Cup, Ömer Güneş, who competes in a 1976 Ford Escort MKII with the backing of Parkur Racing, had already clinched the title before Istanbul. In the Istanbul Rally cup classification, the battle for the remaining podium places, second and third, looks set to be fought out between 5 drivers who are close on points...
Behiç Yurdaçalışan 2026 TOSFED Rally Cup Standings
1. Ömer GÜNEŞ … 97
2. Baran DEMIRKAN … 69
3. Murat ÇETİN … 56
4. Giuseppe AGAZZI … 53
5. Orçun NURAL … 49
6. Berat YILDIRIM … 48
7. Gürol BARANLI … 40
8. Faruk SAYIN … 31
9. Candan ERİM … 27
10. Dinçer AKGÜN … 23
We wish all the competitors taking part in the Orhan Yüce 46th Istanbul Rally the best of luck.
