Uğur Soylu and Soner Tamer win Kocaeli Rally and take Turkish Rally Championship lead

The Petrol Ofisi Maxima 2026 Turkish Rally Championship round six, the Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality Rally, was won by Uğur Soylu and Soner Tamer, driving for GP Garage My Team. Of the 40 crews that started, 29 finished.

Castrol Ford Team Turkey's Can Alakoç and Bilge Ayan were second, and GP Garage My Team's Eytan Halfon and Gürkal Menderes took third. Soylu, driving a Skoda Fabia Rally2, won after the Eskişehir Rally and took over the championship lead.

The two-day event was run over nine special stages made more difficult by rain.

Kazaz recovers on day two

Team Petrol Ofisi's Kerem Kazaz and Ross Whittock, who arrived as championship leaders, were in the lead after the first three stages. On the fourth special stage the crew suffered an alternator belt problem and retired at the start of the final stage of the day. Returning on day two under super rally rules, the pair won every stage and took the championship points on offer for the leg's advantage stage.

Class winners

The Soylu-Tamer crew won Class 2, and GP Garage My Team took the team title. Osman Ceylan and Batuhan Doğan were the winners of the two-wheel-drive and Class 4 categories. Can Alakoç and Bilge Ayan won Class 3 and the junior drivers' category, and also received the Remed Assistance special award. Uğur Kaban and Mert Kaya won Class 5, while Sevgi Aktürk and Begüm Uludağ won the women's category.

In the Behiç Yurdaçalışan TOSFED Rally Cup, Ömer Güneş and Ege Can Ünlü won the overall standings and Category 3. Tuncer and Asena Sancaklı finished second overall. Baran Demirkan and Tarık Doğançay were third overall and won Category 2. Orçun Nural and Süleyman Terzioğlu won Category 4, and Berat Yıldırım and Onur Sırımoğlu won Category 1.

The season ends with the Orhan Yüce 46th Istanbul Rally, organized by the Istanbul Motor Sports Club (İstanbul Otomobil Spor Kulübü) from November 13 to 15.