Kocaeli Decides the Rally Champions

The seventh and final round of the 2018 Turkish Rally Championship, the Ford Otosan 36th Rally Kocaeli, was held on 17-18 November with 51 cars and 102 competitors taking part.
At the end of the rally, organised by the Kocaeli Automobile Sports Club (KOSDER) with Ford Otosan as title sponsor, Burak Çukurova-Vedat Bostancı of BC Vision Motorsport won in a Skoda Fabia R5, Hakkı Ağaoğlu-Erkan Güleren of GP Garage My Team took second in a Peugeot 207 S2000, and Yağız Avcı-Onur Vatansever of Ford Motorsport Turkey finished third in a Ford Fiesta R5.
Crews covered 284 kilometres over the two days, 102 kilometres of it on special stages, in a demanding rally. Ümit Can Özdemir-Batuhan Memişyazıcı of Ford Motorsport Turkey won the 2WD and Class 4 categories, Fatih Kara-Bilge Ayan of the Fiat Motorsporları team took Class 3, and Onat Telkenar-Efe Eryalaz, competing with TOSFED and Fiat sponsorship, won the Juniors category.
The event also counted towards the Historic classification for classic rally cars over 35 years old. Yılmaz Köprücü-Koray Akgün won the category in an Opel Kadett, Gerçek Sunman-Bahar Sunman were second in a Murat 131, and Özcan Opçin-Serdar Canbek took third in a Murat 124.
In the Ali Sipahi Rally Cup classification, Emrah Ali Başo-Gürkal Menderes of Ford Motorsport Turkey won both the overall classification and Category 4. Hakan Gürel-Havva Gürel finished second overall and won Category 4 in a Suzuki Boleno, while Yavuzhan Cabbaroğlu-Enez Al were third overall and won Category 3 in a Subaru Impreza WRX. In Category 2, Levent Şapçılar-Deniz Gümüş from Izmir won in a Ford Fiesta ST.
At the finish podium ceremony at the 41 Bursa Shopping Centre, the leading crews received their trophies from Kocaeli Provincial Director of Youth and Sports Engin Yaşar, TOSFED Sporting Director Murat Kaya, Ford Otosan Deputy General Manager Özgür Yücetürk, Shell Türkiye Marmara Regional Manager Erdem Sevim, TRYP by Windham Kocaeli General Manager Tamer Onsoy, 41 Burda Operations Manager Akgün Yıldız and Kocaeli Automobile Sports Club president Ceyhun Yalçın.
Following this rally, Burak Çukurova-Vedat Bostancı have mathematically secured the Turkish Rally Championship title, Levent Gür-Oytun Albayrak the Turkish Historic Rally Championship title, and Emrah Ali Başo-Gürkal Menderes the Ali Sipahi Rally Cup title. The 2018 Turkish Rally Championship standings will become official once announced by the TOSFED Sporting Commission.