Kolot Makes a Fast Start but Ends Unlucky

The third round of the Turkish Karting Championship, organised by TOSFED at Tuzla Karting Park – which has opened in Istanbul after many years – delivered a hard-fought contest.

Competing in the Mini category, 11-year-old Ömer Asaf Kolot showed after a good practice session that the weekend would be a competitive one, taking second place in qualifying by a narrow margin.
In the third round, run over three races – one on Saturday and two on Sunday – Kolot started the first race from second place and stayed close to the rival throughout. The pressure paid off towards the final laps, when a move on the run onto the start straight took the lead, and Kolot was the first driver to take the chequered flag.

Starting the second race from the front, the young driver was put off the track in the later laps by deliberate contact from a rival behind. The impact stalled the engine, and after rejoining the race Kolot had dropped to the back and finished last. Although the rival received a 10-second penalty for the contact, falling from the lead to last cost a great many points.Starting the third and final race of the weekend from third place, Ömer Asaf finished second and, on aggregate points, secured third place in the Formula Mini class. After receiving the trophy from Ann Tahincioğlu, who has played a major role in the development of karting in Turkey, Ömer Asaf will travel to Belgium's world-famous SPA karting circuit on 5–6 August to represent Turkey in the Belgian Max Challenge series, which has been followed this season.