Volkicar's International Success

The Azerbaijan launch of the V1 Challenge, which continues to spread around the world with Volkicar, took place in Baku. Under a Champion of Champions concept, 14 fast and well-known drivers competed in front of 15,000 people at Crystal Hall.

Crystal Hall, which hosted the Eurovision Song Contest and opened its doors once again for the V1 organisation, was the scene of huge enthusiasm from thousands of spectators who wanted to watch the VOLKICARs. Designed and delivered by Volkan Işık and his team, this Champion of Champions race was the result of a year of preparation. Staged with a team of more than 250 people, the event drew over 15,000 spectators. The crowd's excitement reached fever pitch thanks to a mini concert by the well-known vocal group vokaPeople, unique stunt car shows by the Italian team Mirabilandia Stuntman, specially arranged co-drive laps and Red Bull drifting displays.

V1 Challenge Steps Up to Become the New Worldwide Name for the Champion of Champions

On the purpose-built track, the drivers raced head-to-head from side-by-side starts, adding great excitement to the day. After qualifying, the paired drivers fought to get ahead of their opponent beneath the chequered flag. A total of 14 drivers took on the VOLKICARs, including well-known names such as Patrick Snijers from Belgium, Miguel Jorge Ribeiro De Campos from Portugal, Luca Betti from Italy, Harry Muller from Germany, Abdo Feghali from Lebanon and Anthoine Hubert from France, alongside drivers from Bulgaria, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Croatia. Our country was represented by 2011 V1 Challenge champion Burak Çukurova. Çukurova set the fourth-fastest time in qualifying. In the draw that followed, he was paired with Italian rally driver Luca Betti for the first round and, despite going 1-0 down, won 2-1 to advance to the next round. In that round, Çukurova faced Lebanese drift and rally driver Abdo Fegali and was eliminated after losing 2-0. Our driver received huge applause and support from the 15,000 spectators who came to watch the race.

Prize Money Added Excitement to the Sporting Rivalry

After beating Burak Çukurova, Abdo Fegali also eliminated Azeri driver Adil Axundov and finished the event in third place, while German drift champion Harry Muller took second and France's young talent Anthoine Hubert won the event. The winner received a €10,000 cash prize from Anar ALAKBAROV, President of the Azerbaijan Automobile Federation. The runner-up won €5,000, while the third-placed driver received a €2,000 prize from Volkan Işık.

Volkan Işık Sets 2016 as the Target for V1 International

Following this spectacular and successful event in Baku, the Azerbaijan Automobile Federation has stepped up work on the V1 Challenge Azerbaijan event it plans to stage in 2015. Volkan Işık, meanwhile, has taken the first step towards turning the dream of an international V1 Challenge, built around a Turkish-made racing car, into reality. The goal is to organise the V1 Challenge, which was born in Turkey, internationally in 2016 across six countries, with each round held in a different country.