1,500 Spectators Watch Drifting at Körfez

Round 3 of the Apex Masters Turkish Drift Championship was held at the İzmit Körfez Race Track, organised by Drift Otomobil Sporları Kulübü and sponsored by PWR Balata.

The smoke-filled, adrenaline-packed battles took place in front of more than 1,500 ticket-holding spectators. After the Izmir and Istanbul rounds, the drivers faced tighter, sharper corners and very close battles at the İzmit Körfez circuit. On the first day of the event, qualifying was held behind closed doors after the cars' scrutineering. In qualifying, TeamART Motorsport driver İbrahim Yücebaş, who travelled from Cyprus for the event, finished first with 90 points, while Alias Racing Team's Kemal Soylu was second with 87 points and Kemal Özhaseki of Jdm Works D'Team was third.

In Sunday's racing, the driver who drew the spectators' attention most was Ülkü Erçoban from Cyprus, the first female driver in the Apex Masters series, who managed to reach the top 16 despite the misfortunes she suffered with her car. Oktay Kabaktaş, who won the second race after hard-fought battles on the way to the final, met Timur Pomak in the semi-final. Oktay Kabaktaş had the advantage in the first runs, but in the second run his tyres went off the track, and Timur Pomak booked his place in the final. In the final, MTG Motorsport's Timur Pomak faced TeamART Motorsport driver İbrahim Yücebaş, who was competing for the first time in the 2016 season. Their head-to-head run was repeated twice because of ties, and İbrahim Yücebaş emerged as the winner and lifted the winner's trophy on the podium.

In a draw at the end of the day, lucky spectators got to experience drifting from the passenger seat. After this race, Timur Pomak extends his championship lead to 45 points, followed by two drivers on 42 points, Kemal Özhaseki and Oktay Kabaktaş. In the teams' championship, JDM Works D'Team lead with 37 points, Team Art Dream Drift Team are second with 29 points and MTG Motorsport are third with 24 points...