Kazaz Extends Championship Lead
Cappadocia Rally, the fourth round of the Petrol Ofisi Maxima 2025 Turkish Rally Championship, ended with victory for the Kerem Kazaz-Corentin Silvestre crew, competing for Team Petrol Ofisi in a Hyundai i20 N Rally2. The 19-year-old young national driver Kazaz also took the Class 2 and young driver wins on the rally, and extended his championship lead with 105 points.
In a contest staged amid the natural and cultural beauty of Cappadocia, the Buğra Banaz-Onur Ahıskalı crew from Toksport WRT, supported by ETİ and SKODA, finished second, while third place overall went to the Ümitcan Özdemir-Kutay Ertuğrul crew, competing for GP Garage My Team with the support of NOTHING, Akdağlar and Skopar.
Organised by Başkent Turing Spor Kulübü, in coordination with the Nevşehir Governorship and hosted by Nevşehir Municipality, with the support of ICRYPEX, Spor Toto, Remed Assistance, Salados, Fora Araç Takip, Power App and Auto Club, under the main sponsorship of Türkiye İş Bankası, Magdeburger Sigorta, Zemi Otel and Vidipass, and with contributions from the Cappadocia Area Directorate, the Provincial Directorate of Youth and Sports, the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, and the municipalities of Avanos, Gülşehir, Ürgüp, Göreme, Çat and Ortahisar, the event came to an end on Sunday 13 July with the finish ceremony and prize-giving held in Kayaşehir.
The rally, contested by 37 cars and 74 competitors, saw a fierce battle on demanding gravel stages made tougher by the hot weather. Team Petrol Ofisi took the team win, while Class 3 victory went to Ali Türkkan-Oytun Albayrak of Castrol Ford Team Türkiye.
The Serhan Türkkan-Onur Sırımoğlu crew topped both Class 4 and the 2WD classification, while Uğur Kaban-Melih Uygur took the Class 5 win. Sevgi Aktürk-Begüm Uludağ stepped onto the finish podium as Class N winners, and the crew also claimed the women's driver and women's co-driver titles.
As a social responsibility project during Cappadocia Rally, the 'One Book, One Toy, A Thousand Hopes' campaign was held. Through this solidarity initiative, books and toys were provided to children in the region. In addition, the TOSFED Next Talent project, run by the Turkish Automobile Sports Federation with the support of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), welcomed young talents on a course set up in the Cappadocia Rally service area.
The Petrol Ofisi Maxima 2025 Turkish Rally Championship will continue on 13-14 September with ESOK Rally, organised by Eskişehir Otomobil Spor Kulübü, which also awards points in the 2025 FIA European Rally Trophy.
