Mert Becce Season Review

We begin our "Interviews with Champions" series with Mert Becce, the 2022 Eastern European Baja Series Car Category winner. Becce looked back on the season and shared plans and goals for the new campaign with our readers.

How did you get into motorsport?
I've been around motorsport since I was very young. As a child I had plenty of chances to put my foot down in buggies and karts, but my official racing career began at 18 in Canada, in autocross. Looking from the start to today, where do you see yourself?
I discovered baja and the rally-raid concept at the 2014 Transanatolia Rally. I took part purely for fun, but by the end of it I realised I would never let this go. I've built up a lot of experience since then, but I feel the real adventure is only just beginning :)How did the 2022 season go? What were your goals, and did you achieve them?
The 2022 season was enjoyable. Our goal with Sertaç Tatar was to win the Eastern European Baja Cup for the second year running and prove our success was no coincidence, and things went the way we wanted. In the TOSFED Baja Cup we tried new things, introduced new names to racing and spent plenty of time flat out in a two-wheel-drive car. The rising quality of the events and the growing entry numbers made it even more enjoyable.You competed with a new name, Çağrı Çıtanak, in the TOSFED Baja Cup. We know Çıtanak is very keen and excited about this sport. Did the adaptation come easily?
Çağrı adapted superbly this year. Çıtanak really put in the work and was very successful. I'm sure Çıtanak will keep making a mark and winning in this sport. There are some surprises for next year, but I won't say anything, as Çıtanak will announce them soon :)What are your goals for the 2023 season?
In the new season we want to raise the bar and win the FIA European Baja Cup. The European cup will stretch us both financially and physically, but we'll do everything we can. The competition is formidable and the standard is high, but there's no reason it can't be done.Will other competitors from Turkey follow the cup?
There's no homologated vehicle at the moment. İsrafil Akyüz is working on preparing one, and if it's ready in time Akyüz will come. Besides that, Eylem Tekin and Erkan Birinci also intend to come and, as far as I know, are looking at vehicles. As Rally-Raid Team Türkiye, we might even take the teams' cup :)What is the goal you want to reach in this sport?
I really enjoy the satisfaction and maturity that come from climbing the steps one by one. Turkey and Eastern Europe are done. Next on my list are the European and World cups, and then lifting the Dakar trophy.Which event did you find the most successful in the 2022 season?
In the 2022 Eastern European Cup, Greece put on an incredible event. Because it was an FIA event, very successful and fast crews took part and it was very crowded. In the TOSFED Baja Cup, all the clubs put on much better events than in previous years, and it's very pleasing to see that progress. It's hard to pick one, but the Bolu event was a lot of fun.Which was your best event?
In Turkey, Bursa was our best event. Luck was on our side, and in our first event together with Çağrı we managed to finish first both overall and in the car category. In terms of results, that was our most successful event.Which was your worst event?
It wouldn't be right to say it went badly because we enjoyed it a lot, but the Düzce event wasn't good for us from a sporting point of view. We started with our car in two-wheel drive and tried to carry on that way to the finish. We couldn't complete the first stage because of a simple mistake that ended in a crash, and afterwards we got stuck in the mud twice and had to be pulled out by other crews. It was very muddy and we struggled as a two-wheel-drive car, but even though we couldn't set any times, sliding sideways was a different kind of fun.Which stage did you like best?
The stage run twice on the second day of the TOSFED Baja Cup Bolu event was a lot of fun for us. It was fast with plenty of corners, and we really enjoyed it.