Troia Wind Blows Through the Foothills of the Kaz Mountains

Baja Troia Türkiye, Turkey's first FIA-approved off-road event, organised by the Istanbul Off-road Sports Club (İSOFF), was held over a demanding 637-kilometre route running from the foothills of the Kaz Mountains to the ancient city of Troy.

The event, the second round of the 2025 FIA European Baja Cup and the opening round of the 2025 Burhan Turan Turkish Baja Championship, ended with wins for İsrafil Akyüz-Mert Tepe in the SSV class and Ahmet Tınkır-Rafet Yılmaz in the car class.

National team driver Yağız Birinci, who competed in both the FIA and national classifications in Çanakkale alongside Uğur Tepe, won the FIA classification and also took the podium as SSV runner-up in the national classification. Özgür Şenyurt-Sertaç Tatar completed the SSV podium in third.

On a race that proved tough for the crews on the first day because of rain, Tarık Gökbay-Osman Metin took second in the car class, while Zeki Karaçaylı-Okan Dilberoğlu reached the finish podium in front of the Trojan Horse statue in Çanakkale in third place and as Class 2 winners. Tınkır-Yılmaz were the Class 4 winners of the demanding event, while brothers İhsan and Fatih Günak took the Class 3 win.

At the prize-giving ceremony, attended by Çanakkale Governor Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ömer Toraman, İrem Yağmur Simitçi received the award for the event's best female co-driver, with Ebru Demirbay taking second place.