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The Rally of Turkey had always been based in Kemer in the holiday region of Antalya in the south-west of the country, although the original world championship candidate event ran out of Izmir for the first two years. But the organisers of the event are determined to secure their position on the calendar with a move to the world’s fifth largest city. Istanbul, which is at the other side of the country to Kemer, has a population of more than 12 million people.
The event will be completely new, running on all-new gravel stages which will be seen in the WRC for the first time next year.
The World Rally Championship’s promoter Simon Long says he is delighted with the relocation of the rally to the world’s only city to straddle two continents (Europe and Asia).
Long said: “We applaud the decisions the Rally of Turkey organisers have made. Mumtaz [Tahincioglu, chairman of Turkish Automobile and Motorsports Federation] organises a very good rally from both a sporting and commercial aspect. He knows what we want as the global promoter and we’re very happy with what he’s talking about in Istanbul.”
Next year is already a big year for Istanbul, as it takes on the mantle of European City of Culture, and the WRC round is certain to add to that colour and atmosphere in April.
“The organisers have recognised that an event in Istanbul will really capture the imagination. We will have the service park in Europe and the stages in Asia - how fantastic is that! It’s this kind of ambition that we want to see from the WRC events.”
Major rallies are nothing new to Istanbul, the nation’s first international event ran out of the capital in 1972.
Turkey first ran a round of the World Rally Championship in 2003, having spent the previous two seasons building up to the full WRC round. The country has only missed one season - 2007 - since it was included on the calendar four years earlier.