Hill Climb Season Opens in Izmir

The opening round of the AVIS 2021 Turkish Hill Climb Championship, the Izmir Salados Hill Climb, was organised by the Izmir Motorsports Club, known as İMOK, on 26-27 June. The event began on Saturday 26 June with a ceremonial start at the Park Orman facilities in Kemalpaşa, before running on Sunday 27 June over a 5km course between Sütçüler and Beşpınar, with three runs.
Followed by Kemalpaşa Mayor Rıdvan Karakayalı, the event attracted 31 competitors across four categories, with 24 reaching the finish. In Category 1, Taner Oruç from Bursa began the season with a win in a Citroen Saxo VTS, with Orçun Kuşçu second in a Peugeot 106 GTI and young competitor Berat Berke Yavuz third in a Citroen Saxo VTS.
In Category 2, Burak Başlık took victory in a Ford Fiesta R2, with Süleyman Yanar second in a Fiat Palio and Sevcan Sağıroğlu, the event's only female driver, third in a Fiat Palio.
In Category 3, Ankara's Refik Bozkurt, an experienced name in hill climbing, was fastest in a Renault Sport Clio, with İsmet Toktaş second in a Ford Fiesta R2T and Özkan Kırbacı third in a VW Polo GTI.
In Category 4, home driver Ayhan Germirli from Izmir took both the class win and the fastest run award in a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX, with a time of 03:35.54. Selim Bacıoğlu, returning to the hill after a short break, took second on the podium in this category in his new Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX. Cem Yalın, one of the Category 4 favourites and the 2019 Turkish Hill Climb Category 4 Champion, went off the road on the very first run and left the event early.

In the local classification, the Category 1 podium consisted of İsmail Cabacı first, Burak Navruz second and Barış Karadağ third, while in Category 2 Serdar Kaan Yalçın took first, Serdar Sarıduman second and Süleyman Yanar third.
In Category 3, Hüseyin Yıldırım lifted the winner's trophy, with Özkan Kırbacı second and Muhammed Ali Ülkü third, while in Category 4 Ayhan Germirli was first and Hasan Alpay Gülten second.

The second round of the AVIS 2021 Turkish Hill Climb Championship will be organised by the Bursa Automobile Sports Club (BOSSEK) on 17-18 July on the Şahintepe course in Bursa's Gemlik district.