Gripping Battle in the Turkmen Deserts

The Amul-Hazar 2018 Desert Rally, held in Turkmenistan for the first time this year under the organisation of French driver Jean-Louis Schlesser, took place on 11-15 September with 92 vehicles and 192 competitors from 40 different countries.

Seven vehicles and 14 competitors from Turkey took part in the 1600km event, 1202km of which were special stages. The crews of Adnan Ofluoğlu-Hür Semih Noyan, Erkan Birinci-Arman Özdemir, Cenk Gürpınar-Osman Metin, Ahmet Tınkır-Ali Günpay, Mert Becce-Hakan İsen, Hüseyin Kurt-Özaydın Dölek and Serhat Şükrü Saygılı-Orhan Doğan represented the Turkish flag in a tough fight across different categories.

The best Turkish crew at the end of the rally was Erkan Birinci-Arman Özdemir, who finished fourth among 11 vehicles in the SSV class and 24th overall in a Can-Am Maverick. Serhat Şükrü Saygılı-Orhan Doğan crossed the finish podium fifth in the open class and 44th overall in a Toyota FJ Cruiser, while Adnan Ofluoğlu-Hür Semih Noyan, competing in the T1 class with a Nissan Navara, completed the rally 23rd in T1 and 53rd overall. Mert Becce-Hakan İsen, driving a Suzuki Vitara, lost a great deal of time after getting stuck in the sand, and finished seventh in the open class and 55th overall.
Our other crews were unable to complete the demanding event: Cenk Gürpınar-Osman Metin in a Suzuki Vitara and Hüseyin Kurt-Özaydın Dölek in a Jeep Cherokee retired after fires broke out in their vehicles, while Ahmet Tınkır-Ali Günpay retired with a mechanical problem.