Olympic Stadium Shrouded in Smoke

Round two of the Apex Masters Turkish Drift Championship was organised by Drift Otomobil Sporları Kulübü, sponsored by PWR Balata, at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium. In front of more than 3,000 ticket-holding spectators, the drivers took to a track that was tougher and faster than the one used at the İzmir round. In qualifying on Saturday 28 May, Mert Bilaloğlu of JDM Works D'Team topped the order with 90 points, while Alias Racing Team's Kemal Soylu, winner of the opening round, was second with 87 points. Teamart Dream Drift Team's Özer Mollamehmetoğlu was third.

On Sunday 29 May, a grandstand set up in the Olympic Stadium car park with the support of the Sports Technical and Adventure Office allowed spectators to follow the event far more comfortably. As always, there was great interest in the driver meet-and-greet and paddock visit held during the day. In the race, which took place with Monster Energy support, the surprise of the day was Furkan Karan, who finished fourth in a BMW E36 Turbo. Timur Pomak of MTG Motorsport took third and appeared on an Apex Masters podium for the first time. In the final, Teamart Dream Drift Team's Oktay Kabaktaş faced JDM Works D'Team's Kemal Özhaseki; Kemal Özhaseki spun in their tandem run, handing Oktay Kabaktaş the win and the winner's trophy. After the event, spectators picked in an end-of-day draw got to experience drifting from the passenger seat alongside the drivers.

After this round of the Turkish Drift Championship, Kemal Özhaseki leads the standings with 32 points, Kemal Soylu is second with 30 points and Timur Pomak third with 28. In the teams' championship, JDM Works D'Team leads with 27 points, while Alias Racing Team and Teamart Dream Drift Team, both on 18 points, are second and third respectively...
Words: Ahmet Said ÖZEN