Stars Battle It Out in Prokart
Round 2 and Round 3 of the Prokart BPC, officially the Istanbul Sporting Karting Endurance Championship (İSKDB), organised by İKOK Istanbul Karting and Automobile Club, were held on 3-4 September at the Akyazı Kenan Sofuoğlu Circuit.
A demanding weekend awaited the teams. Round 2, which had previously been postponed, was to be run on Saturday 3 September, with Round 3 following on Sunday 4 September. The teams were ready, but two consecutive days of intense racing was a worry. When the racing finished at the end of the two days, after a four-month wait, all the drivers were delighted.
Round 2, run over four stages, produced a big fight among the "stars". Kuzey Yıldızı won two stages, Deniz Yıldızı one and Çoban Yıldızı one. The Chronos teams made the top three in the final stage, but the points they collected were not enough to reach the podium. Kuzey Yıldızı took three fastest-time points and Deniz Yıldızı one. At the end of the day, the winners were:
1. Kuzey Yıldızı (Orçun Aydemir, Ali Türkkan)
2. Deniz Yıldızı (Emir Kalafatoğlu, Üstün Üstünkaya, Mehmet Yaman)
3. Çoban Yıldızı (Akın Eren, Umut Can Doğangün, Osman Aydemir )
A similar battle was unfolding in the GB class. The three teams fighting for the top spot raced superbly right up to the end. The results at the end of the day were:
1. Gamer Over (Arman Ekinci, Burak Kocamangil, Özcan Özalp)
2. Team Warriors (Berk Sarı, Remzi Bahşi)
3. Alfa EEKT (Toprak Candan, Murathan Gür, Emre Ergör)
When the teams arrived at the circuit on Sunday 4 September for Round 3, the fatigue from Round 2 was noticeable. Even so, every team was eager and focused on the new race.
While the previous day's winners were chasing the same success, the other teams wanted to move to the front. Kuzey Yıldızı and Deniz Yıldızı produced another magnificent fight. When Kuzey Yıldızı dropped back after a lap penalty in a stage it had won, Deniz Yıldızı gained the advantage. They gave that advantage back in the third stage after damage to their kart. In the final stage Deniz Yıldızı was the first team to see the chequered flag, while the Biz.? team took second place from Kuzey Yıldızı. Racing more carefully in this round, Biz.? secured its place on the podium. The Chronos Kart10 team scored very good points but finished fourth, one point short. Kuzey Yıldızı took three fastest-time points and Deniz Yıldızı one. After Round 4, the results were:
1. Deniz Yıldızı (Emir Kalafatoğlu, Üstün Üstünkaya, Mehmet Yaman)
2. Kuzey Yıldızı (Orçun Aydemir, Ali Türkkan)
3. Biz.? (Emir Tahincioğlu, Burcu Erenkul, Elif Şen, Zeynep Şen)
In the GB class, the previous day's battle picked up where it had left off. Team Warriors suffered an engine failure in one of the stages and could not start, but stayed in the fight in the other stages. It finished the day second, behind the Alfa team, which won three stages.
