Kuzey Yıldızı Takes Title on Countback

The 11th season of the Istanbul Karting Endurance Championship, organised this year by the Istanbul Karting and Automobile Club, came to a close on Saturday 31 October with Round 6 at Davutpaşa Volkan Işık Arena. In the six-hour race, contested by 12 teams, Kuzey Yıldızı and RSM Racing fought a fierce battle for the season title. Although RSM Racing won the day and closed the 3-point gap in the overall classification, Kuzey Yıldızı took the season title on countback. Team46 finished the season third.

Kuzey Yıldızı went into the final race leading the overall classification on 336 points, with closest rival RSM Racing second on 333. The points scored in the last race would decide the 2015 Season Champion. As expected, there was a huge fight between the two contenders.

In qualifying, RSM Racing took the top spot to gain an advantage. Alfa EEKT took second, while leader Kuzey Yıldızı could only manage third. Kuzey Yıldızı lost time through a crash at the start of the first stint, while RSM Racing were caught out by a Safety Car period as they left the pits. At the end of the stint, Gold Line Game Over finished first, Team46 second and Game Over Silver Line third. RSM Racing were fourth and Kuzey Yıldızı fifth. The fastest lap among the timed laps went to Burak Kocamangil of Game Over Gold Line with a 38.420. However, because not all laps were electronically timed due to a malfunction, no best time point was awarded under the rules. After these results, with two stints of the season remaining, RSM Racing cut the gap to 2 points.

The second stint saw a great fight between the title contenders. Kuzey Yıldızı were first to see the chequered flag at the end of the stint, with RSM Racing second and Team46 third. RSM Racing set the fastest lap of the stint with a 38.217 and took the best time point. That put the gap between Kuzey Yıldızı and RSM Racing at 4 points going into the final stint.

The final stint, which also decided the season champion, provided great excitement. RSM, Kuzey Yıldızı and Team46 battled hard right through to the closing laps. RSM Racing won the stint, with Kuzey Yıldızı second and Team46 third. RSM Racing also took the best time point with a 38.284, leaving the two teams level on points. However, Kuzey Yıldızı, who had more stint wins over the season, were top of the overall classification on countback. After protests at the end of the race, the Stewards announced the final results, and Kuzey Yıldızı finished the day second to secure the season title.

At the end of the day, RSM Racing collected the trophy for first place, Kuzey Yıldızı for second and Team46 for third. In the Teşvik category, Gama EEKT were the winners of the day. Honey Badgers took second and Deniz Yıldızı third.

Kuzey Yıldızı and RSM Racing, the two most successful teams of the season, were expected to put up a big fight, but nobody predicted they would finish on the same points. For the first time in 11 years, the top two teams ended the season level on points, in a sense sharing the title. Under the rules, Kuzey Yıldızı, with six wins, took the trophy ahead of RSM Racing, with five. Kuzey Yıldızı thus became the first team to win the season title three times in a row. Team46, who started the season well but later faded, claimed third in the season standings.

In the Teşvik category, Deniz Yıldızı finished the season as champions, with Gama EEKT taking second and Honey Badgers third.