A New Window for Motorsport
Celebrating the 25th year of a motorsport career in 2016, successful rally driver Burak Çukurova decided it was time to build a good team and took the first steps towards the rally team he had long dreamed of in October 2015. Unlike other teams, BC VISION MOTORSPORT was set up as a "turnkey" garage, built to meet the needs of competitors as fully as possible, drawing on Çukurova's own knowledge of what crews can face during events.
Speaking about the team's aims and goals at the press launch held on 30 March, Çukurova said: "When we set out as a team, our aim was to offer a complete package: a car prepared by an entirely professional mechanic team, and everything from the moment a competitor leaves home – the practice car, the food, the mechanic's gloves during the event, the hotel booking, the shuttle service that can take family and friends to the stages during the rally – through to the press launch and testing. That is why we are setting out with one of Italy's most professional teams, and we aim to become a strong team of 25 people in total. I would like to thank very much my valued friends who have been with me and put their hearts into this journey: Tuba Karabağ, Bayram Yıldız, Gökçe Özgül and Aykut Bilir, as well as my co-driver Vedat Bostancı. I thank my father Rıza Çukurova, who supported me in taking this step, has always guided me in life and is perhaps the reason behind many of the good things; Ahmer Burkay, who believed in me and stayed by my side in the founding year; and likewise my uncle Alpaslan Çukurova, whose love of motorsport has never faded, for being with me in 2016.
One of the things that sets our team apart as we set out in 2016 is the idea that each crew's sponsor is seen on the other crews' cars too, and with strong sponsors we have set ourselves the goal of moving forward strongly this year. I thank the İBİS hotel chain, which has sponsored me and my crew for five years; Naci Topçuoğlu, owner of the PUNTO Fresco İtaliano Restaurant chain, who believed in our team and became a sponsor this year; Turgut Yüksekdağ, General Manager of AUTOCLUB Türkiye; and DEMOR Perde."
"In 2016 we will compete in seven rallies with the Peugeot 208 T16 R5, Citroen DS3 R3 TMAX and Peugeot 208 R2 – cars that spectators in Turkey have never seen in person. Yes, we are very fresh and new, and we know our rivals are very strong. Our aim and goal for 2016 is both to give all rally fans great sights with our new cars and to show how differently this work can be done. With our vision, we want to give our crews the WRC environment (with engineers, mechanics, an administrative team, stage-end marshals and social media), and our target is second place in the Teams Championship in 2016. With AHMET BURKAY-BİLGE AYAN we want to win the Turkish Class 3 title at the end of the season and go to the Super Cup; with ALPASLAN ÇUKUROVA-ERTUĞRUL GÜNDÜZ in the Turkish Class 4 category, and with ALPTEKİN IŞIKALP-SELİN ÖZGÜR in the Class 5 category, we want to be on the top step of the podium at the end of the season and give our team BC VISION MOTORSPORT good results in its first year.
As we set out towards these goals, I wish all the best in advance to all the media organisations, all the photographers, all the officials and marshals, all the organising clubs, our new federation, all the TV and filming companies, and all the rivals we will be racing against, whether they are with us or not. I wish you every success. I hope that in 2017 we can grow further and take steps together with our competitors and sponsors to carry the sport forward.
See you at the Aegean Rally..."
