WRC Returns to Turkey After 8 Years

The World Rally Championship will return to Turkey after an eight-year absence, with the event based in Muğla. The press conference at Çırağan Palace was attended by Minister of Youth and Sports Osman Aşkın Bak, WRC Managing Director Oliver Ciesla, Turkish Automobile Sports Federation (TOSFED) President Serkan Yazıcı, Ministry of Youth and Sports Director General of Sports Mehmet Baykan and Spor Toto Organisation Director General Mehmet Muharrem Kasapoğlu.

Turkey, which has been reinstated on the calendar of the World Rally Championship (WRC), the world's biggest motorsport series, is preparing to welcome local and foreign motorsport fans to Muğla. "Rally Turkey", the 10th round of a 13-event championship, will host tough battles between world-famous drivers and give spectators watching the stages breathtaking moments.

"We invite the car manufacturers in our country to support this event"

Noting that the launch of the event marks an important moment for Turkey, Minister of Youth and Sports Osman Aşkın Bak said: "Hosting such big events is now very easy for Turkey. As a country, we have a huge capacity for organisation. Over the past 15 years we have made very serious investments in sport, hosted major events and will continue to do so, and the World Rally Championship is one of them. The work carried out by TOSFED President Serkan Yazıcı and his team played a very important role here. The World Rally Championship is also hugely important for promoting our country."

Adding that the Ministry of Youth and Sports, together with the Spor Toto organisation, is giving serious support to the World Rally Championship, Osman Aşkın Bak said: "We also invite the car manufacturers in our country to support this important event. It is an event that shows our country is safe. In this regard we thank the FIA, the WRC and the countries that have supported us for placing their trust in us. Believe me, in the unique natural surroundings of Marmaris we will watch a wonderful rally and show the whole world the beauty of our country. I would like to say once more how happy I am that we will be hosting this event in our country. I wish it every success and conclude my remarks there."

 

Speaking at the press conference about an event that the whole world follows closely and that will welcome the world's fastest drivers, TOSFED President Serkan Yazıcı said: "First of all, I would like to thank everyone who played a part in bringing this valuable event, the world's biggest motorsport series, back to our country, beginning with our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and our Minister of Youth and Sports, our Director General of Sports and all Ministry staff, the President of the Spor Toto Organisation, the Mayor of Muğla Metropolitan Municipality, the Governor of Muğla, the District Governors of Ula and Marmaris, the Muğla Provincial Director of Youth and Sports, and the Mayors of Ula and Marmaris."

"The World Rally Championship is extremely important for promoting the country"

Pointing out that the World Rally Championship will give Turkish motorsport new momentum and help the country open the door to other major events, Serkan Yazıcı said: "In the World Rally Championship selection process we beat New Zealand, Croatia, Japan, Chile, Kenya and South Africa. With this major event, the prestigious image and messages Turkey projects in every field will reach the whole world. We should also not view the World Rally Championship merely as a sporting event; it is also hugely important for promoting the country and for tourism."

Noting that they expect around 50,000 local and foreign tourists to come to the region solely for the World Rally Championship, Yazıcı said: "I believe the World Rally Championship will also give us the opportunity to showcase Turkey's unique beauty, the richness of our culture and the hospitality of our people to the world, and to strengthen the bonds of friendship between us and other countries. As part of the event, central Marmaris will be closed to traffic for a day, and spectators will be offered a visual feast with the city-centre stage. Nearly 5 million spectators attend World Rally Championship events in person every year. Throughout the year, 25 million people watch the rallies on YouTube and around 849 million watch on 155 television channels. We are delighted to be hosting this most important event in Turkey in 2018."

"The manufacturers are pleased that Turkey is returning"

Underlining that Turkey's reinstatement on the World Rally Championship calendar has also been welcomed by the manufacturers involved in the series, Yazıcı said: "All the cars competing in the WRC are four-wheel-drive, four-cylinder, 1.6-litre turbocharged cars producing 380 HP. Although they look identical to the cars in any showroom, they are cars redesigned with different engines, running gear and other technical modifications to deliver entirely different performance. Today these manufacturers are very happy that Turkey has been included in the championship. This event is not just the business of TOSFED or Marmaris, but of the whole of Turkey; it is a national matter."

Saying that they are delighted to see Turkey back on the WRC calendar, WRC Promoter Managing Director Oliver Ciesla continued: "Thanks to its strategic location and economic potential, Turkey plays a very important role in our expansion into new markets. TOSFED has done an excellent job in bringing this important event back to Turkey. Marmaris is a very enjoyable location from the WRC's point of view. It will be an exceptional, modern and very compact rally. 150 countries will watch the beauty of Marmaris live. I would like to thank all the national and local authorities, and I am looking forward to coming to Marmaris in September."