TOSFED Continues with Üçlertoprağı
The 2021 Ordinary Elective General Assembly of the Turkish Automobile Sports Federation (TOSFED) was held in Ankara on Wednesday 27 October. Eren Üçlertoprağı, who has served as TOSFED President since 2019, stood as the sole candidate and was re-elected after the general assembly, in which 144 delegates voted, renewing the confidence placed in him. The Board of Directors under Üçlertoprağı comprises Nisa Ersoy, Cemil Onur Sürmeli, Hayri Çavuşoğlu, Cem Akoğul, Efsun Yazıcı, Osman Geylan, Abdülkerim Gök and Ali Güneş.
In his speech, President Üçlertoprağı said that over the previous term the federation had successfully delivered major international events, hosting Formula 1 twice and the World Rally Championship twice, and added that it had recently represented the country successfully on the international stage with young competitors, with that success set to continue.
"We have managed to significantly increase the own revenues of our federation and our sport, whose brand value grows with each passing day, thanks in part to sponsorships. Through the efforts of our management, and for the first time in TOSFED's history, sponsorships from leading companies in their sectors such as Red Bull, Tofaş-Fiat, AVIS, Shell, Petlas and Bitci.com have allowed us to support our clubs and bring a significant improvement in the quality of events," said Eren Üçlertoprağı. He added that in the new term they want to give the Federation a more corporate structure, managed with its own resources, and that they will take important steps on facilities, while continuing projects to discover and develop competitors.
Üçlertoprağı said their biggest goal is to return Istanbul Park, which the State brought to the country with great vision in 2005, to the service of Turkish motorsport. "Today this important facility is run with a mindset far removed from its original purpose; it operates largely as a car park, serves the personal interests of its operator, and does not even offer competitors the chance to train, charging exorbitant prices. We will begin initiatives to win it back. Feeling our entire community alongside us on this path, we want to put the circuit back at the service of the sport," he said.
Recalling the difficulties caused by the circuit management during the Formula 1 events, Eren Üçlertoprağı said: "The sporting organisation of Formula 1 was carried out with great success by our federation thanks to the exceptional effort and hard work of a staff of around 850 officials, and this success was confirmed by a letter of thanks from FIA President Jean Todt." He went on to say that the operating company has continued to make disrespectful, baseless and unnecessary statements: "Mr Vural Ak, I see and I am following the smear and slander campaigns directed at me and at our federation. We are answering all of this legally. For as long as we are here, you will not be able to run TOSFED as if it were your own company, you will not be able to take it over. You will not be able to have the TOSFED President working alongside you as in the past. The Formula 1 race held last year was without spectators. This year, with spectators present, we have all seen with regret what happened at the event. We will answer in the courts those lawless people who punched our vehicle on the day of the event and even tried to prevent us from entering the circuit. Before you all, I give our community my word that we will wage the necessary fight to return the circuit to its true owner, our sport. Until now we have stayed silent. From now on we will not. We will speak on every platform about returning this circuit, which could serve many sports, to the sporting community."
