Champion Raises His Sights
The Bursa-based crew of Emrah Ali Başo-Gürkal Menderes, who finished the 2016 Turkish Rally Championship as Class 5 champions, have begun preparations for the new season...
Emrah Ali Başo began his motorsport career in 2014 with local autocross and hill climb events. In 2015 the driver competed in the TOSFED Rally Cup, finishing the season as Category 1 winner, before following the Turkish Rally Championship in 2016.
With Gürkal Menderes as co-driver, Başo took five class wins and one second place from seven rallies in a Ford Fiesta R1, but failed to finish the Istanbul Rally. In Class 5, which featured seven crews in total, the Başo-Menderes crew finished the season in first place, just 2.4 points ahead of closest rival Fırat Yükselir.
The Bursa driver has wasted no time in starting work on 2017 and is now deciding between upgrading the Ford Fiesta R1 to R2 specification to compete in Class 4, or buying a new car to compete in Class 3...
Besides the 2017 Turkish Rally Championship, the Başo-Menderes crew will also take on the Ford Performance Fiesta Cup, organised by Teknik Motorsport as part of the championship events, with the aim of winning. If they can secure the necessary sponsor support, they also hope to start two European rounds.
