Hill Climb Battle Continues at Kartepe

The Kartepe Hill Climb, round four of the 2015 Turkish Hill Climb Championship, was organised by the Kocaeli Automobile Sports Club (KOSDER) on 11-12 July. Over a 6km course run across two runs, 18 competitors from Bursa, Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir and Antalya battled across four separate categories.

The event, staged with the support of Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality and Kartepe Municipality, began with practice runs on Saturday 11 July, with the first start of the event given at 13:00.

In Category 1, Bursa's Burak Başlık, driving a Citroen Saxo VTS, took the win, followed by fellow Bursa competitor Engin Apaydın, who raced a similar car for Ülkü Motorsport. Taner Oruç, also from Bursa, completed the Category 1 podium in third with a Fiat Palio.

In Category 2, Galip Atar from Izmir, racing a Fiat Punto S1600 for Ülkü Motorsport, claimed his first hill climb victory of the season, while young Bursa driver Semih Erkal finished the category second in a Renault Clio Williams. In Category 2, which featured six competitors, third place went to Kadir Murat Altıntaş from Ankara, driving an Opel Astra GSI for Ülkü Motorsport.

In Category 3, Bursa's Honda Civic Type-R driver İsmet Toktaş left the Kartepe course with the class win, competing for Ülkü Motorsport. Bursa's Osman Uğur took second in a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX, while young Ankara competitor Refik Bozkurt was third in a Renault Clio Sport.

In Category 4, last year's champion Ümit Ülkü set the fastest run of the day in a Porsche 997 GT3 with a time of 2:53.04 and once again won his category. Hakan Yuva, racing a Fiat Punto S1600 for Pegasus Racing, finished second in this category, while Kemal Gamgam, in an Opel Astra GSI Kit Car, ended his hill climb return after a long break with third place.

The fifth round of the season in the Turkish Hill Climb Championship will be organised by the Ankara Automobile Sports Club (ANOK) on 15-16 August.