Turkish Crews Dominate ERC3 Podium

Castrol Ford Team Türkiye successfully completed the Acropolis Rally, the third round of the 2017 European Rally Championship. On the rally based in Lamia, Greece, the Turkish crews filled the top three places in the front-wheel-drive category, a significant achievement. With these results, Castrol Ford Team Türkiye moved into the lead of the European Rally Team Championship, which features 25 teams. In the two-wheel-drive class of the demanding gravel rally, the Buğra Banaz-Burak Erdener crew won the class, while Ümit Can Özdemir-Batuhan Memişyazıcı finished second, earning valuable points for Castrol Ford Team Türkiye in the team championship.

Murat Bostancı: "We gained great experience in these difficult conditions"
The team's lead crew, Murat Bostancı-Onur Vatansever, climbed as high as third overall but failed to finish the rally after going off the road on the final stage. After problems on the first day, the pair closed the day by climbing from seventh to fifth, and continued their rise on the second day to reach third. However, Bostancı-Vatansever went off the road in the closing kilometres of the Elitia-Karya stage and lost the chance of a podium finish.
After the rally, Bostancı said: "We lost some time on the first day of the rally and weren't in the position we wanted. But we then picked up the pace, found our rhythm and climbed to third. While everything was going as we wanted, unfortunately we went off the road on the final stage and couldn't finish the rally. We're sorry not to be on the podium, but we gained great experience in these difficult conditions. We'll fight to do our best in Cyprus."
Banaz a contender in two-wheel drive!
Castrol Ford Team Türkiye's young driver Buğra Banaz continued his campaign in the two-wheel-drive class with his 1.0 Ecoboost Fiesta R2T, in addition to the Under-27 group in which he competes in the European Rally Championship. Banaz won his class on the Acropolis Rally and moved up to second in the ERC3 standings. The other two-wheel-drive class podium finishers were Ümit Can Özdemir-Batuhan Memişyazıcı, who took second and earned the team important points, while İsmet Toktaş-Sedat Bostancı, who entered the Acropolis Rally alongside Castrol Ford Team Türkiye, finished third in ERC3 in a Fiesta R2T.
Serdar Bostancı: "It is a source of pride for a Turkish team to lead in Europe"
Castrol Ford Team Türkiye Team Director Serdar Bostancı said of the Acropolis Rally results: "Thanks to the successful results achieved by Buğra and Ümit Can, we have moved into the lead of the team championship. We will go to Rally Cyprus, the fourth round of the season, to defend our lead and extend the gap further. We are happy and proud, on behalf of our country, that a Turkish team is leading the European Rally Championship."European Rally Team Championship standings
1. Castrol Ford Team Türkiye - Turkey / 71 points
2. Opel Junior Team - Germany / 69 points
3. Lotos Rally Team – Poland / 45 points
4. Sports Racing Technologies - Latvia / 41 points
5. Peugeot Rally Academy - Spain / 39 points