Bursa Drivers Take Three Out of Four at Karşıyaka
The opening round of the 2016 Turkish Hill Climb Championship, the Karşıyaka Hill Climb, was held on 26-27 March by the Ege Otomobil Sporları Kulübü (EOSK) with the support of Karşıyaka Municipality.
The event began on Saturday 26 March with administrative and technical checks at Karşıyaka Anayasa Square and continued on Sunday 27 March with practice runs. A total of 20 competitors in four separate categories took on the 6.50-kilometre course, which started at the Karşıyaka Yamanlar Picnic Area and was run over three climbs.
In Category 1, last year's champion, Bursa driver Burak Başlık, took the win in his Yenigelenler-backed Citroen Saxo VTS, with Gerçek Sunman second in a Fiat 131 and Nuvit Karakaşlı third in a Fiat Palio. Former hill climb champion Burak Sohtorik, returning to the start line after many years in a Fiat Palio, failed to finish the event because of a mechanical failure.
In Category 2, another successful Bursa driver, Hakan Ertarman, took victory in his Demsaş-backed Renault Clio Ragnotti. Mehmet Yeğen in a Peugeot 106 GTI and Hakan Yuva in a Fiat Punto S1600 both failed to reach the finish because of mechanical failures.
In Category 3, it was once again a driver from Bursa, İsmet Toktaş in an RMK-backed Honda Civic Type-R EP3, who was fastest in the class. Last year's champion, Refik Bozkurt from Ankara, finished the day second in a Renault Sport Clio, while Izmir's Erkan Yanıkoğlu, in a similar car, joined the drivers who fell victim to mechanical failure.
Izmir's Ayhan Germirli, making his first start in the new Renault Clio R3 he will compete in this season, set the fastest climb of the day with a time of 04:45.15 and also took the Category 4 win. Berna Şensoy, the only woman in the event, claimed second place in a VW Polo TDi for Ülkü Motorsport, while last year's Turkish champion Ümit Ülkü was unable to finish after a mechanical failure on the Porsche 997 during the third climb.
At the end of the event, the top finishers received their trophies from the organisers at the prize-giving ceremony held at 18:30 at the Karşıyaka Yamanlar Picnic Area.
