Mud Bath at the Rallycross
The opening two rounds of the 2015 TOSFED Rallycross Cup were held on 25 October at the Orhangazi circuit on the shore of Lake İznik in Bursa, organised by the Ege Otomobil Sporları Kulübü (EOSK) and the Eskişehir Otomobil Sporları Kulübü (ESOK). The events had been scheduled over two days, 24-25 October, but excessive rain on Saturday made running impossible, so both rounds were run on the same day. When the sun appeared in the early hours of Sunday morning, the organisers were able to breathe a sigh of relief, and with intensive work from Orhangazi Municipality crews the track was soon ready. The event, which drew huge interest from Bursa's motorsport fans, who watched every elimination heat with bated breath, was contested in three separate categories, determined by engine capacity. With four elimination races and a final in each category, making 15 heats in total, the first round of the TOSFED Rallycross Cup saw a fierce fight between 16 competitors.
In Category 1, Yiğit Yalçın from Bursa won in a Citroen Saxo VTS, with Vehbi Usluoğlu from Istanbul second in a Peugeot 106 GTI and Uygar Birgili from İzmir third, also in a Peugeot 106 GTI. In Category 2, Halid Avdagiç took the win in a Control2, while Bursa's Hakan Ertarman finished second in a Renault Clio Ragnotti and İsmet Toktaş, also from Bursa, completed the day third in a similar car. In Category 3, the fastest driver of the day was Ömer Yıldız, who travelled from Northern Cyprus to take part in a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO VI. Bursa's Osman Uğur took second in a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX, while Ankara's Sinan Saatçi was third in a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IV.
In the second round of the TOSFED Rallycross Cup, which produced colourful and exciting scenes, the winners remained the same… In Category 1, Yiğit Yalçın from Bursa won again in his Citroen Saxo VTS, with Gürkal Menderes from Istanbul second in a Nissan Micra and Uygar Birgili from İzmir third in a Peugeot 106 GTI. In Category 2, Halid Avdagiç in the Control2 was once again the first driver under the chequered flag, while of the two Bursa drivers in Renault Clio Ragnottis, Hakan Ertarman took second and İsmet Toktaş third on the podium. In Category 3, the fastest driver of the day was once again Ömer Yıldız from Northern Cyprus in his Mitsubishi Lancer EVO VI, while Ankara's Sinan Saatçi took second in his Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IV and Bursa's Osman Uğur, who completed the final laps with a punctured right-front tyre, finished third in his Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX.
The third and fourth rounds of the TOSFED Rallycross Cup season will again be held at the Orhangazi circuit on 28-29 November, with the support of Orhangazi Municipality, organised by the Bursa Otomobil Sporları Kulübü (BOSSEK) and the Kocaeli Otomobil Sporları Kulübü (KOSDER).
