Körfez Decides Rallycross Champions

The final round of the 2019 Turkish Rallycross Championship was organised by the Turkish Automobile Sports Federation, known by its acronym TOSFED, on Sunday 24 November at Körfez Race Track… Of the 50 competitors who earned a place in the final through the qualifying rounds held in Bursa and Izmir, 16 battled across four separate classes. The event was run in a multi-start format on a 1,500-metre half-tarmac, half-gravel track. Made up of three qualifying sessions and a final, the event saw breathless battles, especially in the final heats, which were followed with excitement by the crowds filling the circuit. In Class 1, Berke Yavuz, the youngest driver in the event at 19, won the race and the season title in a Citroen Saxo VTS, while Mehmet Tuğrul Bakkal from Izmir finished second. Ahmet Atış in practice, Ali İşeri in qualifying, and Engin Apaydın and Engin Karadağ in the final heats were the names unable to complete the event due to mechanical failures in this class. In Class 2, Istanbul finalist Halid Avdagiç, competing in a Control 2, took the win and the championship, while Bursa's Ahmet Tuna Muhtar was second in a Ford Fiesta ST and Mehmet Gökseven, also from Bursa, took third in a similar car. In a Renault Clio Sport, Tanju Çelen in practice and Gürkal Menderes in the final heats left the weekend pointless due to mechanical problems. In Class 3, Bursa finalist Çağlayan Çelik claimed the win and the championship in a Ford Fiesta R2T, driving it for the first time, while Kemal Gamgam was second in a Ford Fiesta ST and Fiat Palio S1600 driver Bahadır Sevinç finished third. In Class 4, the winner and champion was Bursa's Erhan Akbaş, who began racing this season for GP Garage My Team in a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX. In this class, Izmir finalist Ali Çatalbaş took second in a Fiat Punto S1600, while Halim Ateş, driving a MINI JCW WRC, bowed out of the event in practice. The event, enlivened by displays from Apex Masters drifting drivers Doğukan Manço, Furkan Karan and Aykut Şimşir, ended with a prize-giving ceremony after the racing.