Favourites Take the Wins as Hill Climb Season Opens

The opening round of the 2015 Turkish Hill Climb Championship was organised by the Bursa Automobile Sports Club (BOSSEK) on Sunday 22 March. Contested over three runs on a 5.5-kilometre asphalt course on the Orhangazi-Hamzalı road, the event brought together 13 competitors from Bursa, Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir and Antalya across four separate classes.

Organised with the support of Orhangazi Municipality and sponsored by Powerpan, the event got under way on Sunday morning with practice runs. Motorsport fans also turned out in numbers at the Hamzalı course, which was hosting motorsport for the first time.

In Class 1, which featured local Bursa competitors, last year's champion and Ülkü Motorsport driver Engin Apaydın took the win in a Citroen Saxo VTS, with Burak Başlık following in a Fiat Palio. Another competitor in this class, Emrah Ali Başo, went off the road in practice and was unable to complete the event.

In Class 2, Semih Erkal from Bursa took the win in a Renault Clio Williams. Cem Şit from Ankara was second in an Opel Astra GSI, and Ülkü Motorsport driver Galip Atar from Izmir, also in an Opel Astra GSI, completed the podium in third.

In Class 3, the experienced Alkan Erden started the season with a win in a Fiat Grande Punto S2000 for Pegasus Racing. Young Ankara driver Refik Bozkurt reached the finish in second in a Renault Clio Sport, while third place went to Bursa's Osman Uğur, who has returned to the wheel this season in a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX after a long break.

In Class 4, last year's champion Ümit Ülkü both set the fastest time of the day and won his class in a Porsche 997 GT3. Local driver Orkun Turgut took second in the class in a Mitsubishi Galant VR-4. Antalya's Pegasus Racing driver İsa Karol was unable to complete the event after a gearbox failure on his Fiat Punto S1600.

At the end of the event, the awards were presented to the top finishers at a ceremony by Orhangazi District Governor Mustafa Selman Yurdaer.