Baja Championship: The Winners of Denizli Revealed

Denizli's 343-kilometer final stage took Abdullah Turgut and Arda Şenay to the top in SSV, and Ali Kutay and Ebru Demirbay in the cars category.
Denizli's 343-kilometer final stage took Abdullah Turgut and Arda Şenay to the top in SSV, and Ali Kutay and Ebru Demirbay in the cars category.

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The season finale of the Türkiye Baja Championship was held in Denizli, and the winners were decided: Abdullah Turgut–Arda Şenay won in the SSV class, Ali Kutay–Ebru Demirbay in the automobile class, and GE Rally Raid Team took first place in the teams class. So what did this 343-kilometer final leave behind on the championship table?

The Season's Final Round Was Set Up in Merkezefendi

As someone who has been following this business for over thirty years, let me say: The final leg of the Baja calendar always holds a special place. In the past, waiting for the season's end was left to the next day's newspaper pages; now the results land on our desk the moment the last car crosses the finish line. This year's final was no different. Held on October 23-25 in the Merkezefendi district of Denizli, Baja Denizli knocked on the calendar's final door as the 5th and last round of the 2026 Türkiye Baja Championship.

The organization was undertaken by the Denizli Nature Sports and 4×4 Offroad Sports Club, or DENDOFF for short; Merkezefendi Municipality and Spor Toto also contributed. The race center was the off-road course set up in the Çakmak neighborhood. The event opened on Friday with the qualifying stage, and over the weekend it hosted the main battle.

On the participation side, 16 vehicles and 32 athletes took to the wheel across three classes. Different figures had been announced in the pre-race announcements; this is the usual reality of baja racing - not every team listed on the entry list can safely complete the qualifying stage and technical inspection to make it to the course. The official figure used for the results was the 16 vehicles and 32 athletes announced after the race.

The Highlights

  • Baja Denizli was run on October 23-25, 2026 in Denizli's Merkezefendi; it was the season's 5th and final round.
  • A total 343-kilometer course over two days; the Hierapolis, Laodikeia, and Merkezefendi stages.
  • 16 vehicles and 32 athletes competed in three classes.
  • In the SSV class, Abdullah Turgut–Arda Şenay finished first, and in the automobile class, Ali Kutay–Ebru Demirbay.
  • In the teams class, GE Rally Raid Team came in first.

343 Kilometers Across the Hierapolis, Laodikeia, and Merkezefendi Stages

The course determines the character of baja races, and Denizli is a strong address on this front. Spread over two days, the teams completed a total program of 343 kilometers. On Saturday, the Hierapolis stage was run twice; on Sunday, it was the turn of Laodikeia and a roughly 6-kilometer special stage designed for spectators. Running off-road in the shadow of ancient cities - something not found anywhere else in this region, and it has long made this one of the most photogenic stops on the calendar.

The spectator stage is a detail conceived as the race's face that meets the public. The sections reached despite the dust and smoke, where cars slow down and pass over, once again remind us of the athletes' demanding work: The job here is as precise as on asphalt rallies; the difference is that the terrain is tested not in a good practice run, but within hours of traction and piles of rocks.

Who Won Baja Denizli?

343 kilometrelik Baja Denizli'de otomobil klasmanını Ali Kutay ile Ebru Demirbay, takımlarda ise GE Rally Raid Team kazandı.

The official results of the race completed on Sunday have been announced, and three different stories emerged at the top of the three classifications. In the SSV class - that is, the production-based lightweight vehicle category - the Abdullah Turgut and Arda Şenay duo were the fastest names. In the Automobile class, Ali Kutay and Ebru Demirbay climbed to the top step of the podium. In the Teams classification, GE Rally Raid Team left Mega Metal Racing Team behind.

ClassPositionTeam
SSV1.Abdullah Turgut – Arda Şenay
SSV2.Adem Kalyon – Batuhan Özkök
SSV3.Erkan Sülün – Mert Tepe
Automobile1.Ali Kutay – Ebru Demirbay
Automobile2.Rahmi Eken – Mert Kaya
Automobile3.Efe Turan – Bilge Kağan Turan
Teams1.GE Rally Raid Team
Teams2.Mega Metal Racing Team

The results present a picture that once again tests the reliability of any prediction that could have been made before the season. 343 kilometers probe not only the machines but also the crew's planning; the crew that can maintain the pace for two days and bring the car safely to the final stage takes the lead. A rule well known to the experienced baja audience: Whoever watches the points table in the final leg cannot win the race.

The Impact of the Season Finale on the Championship Standings

This leg was not an ordinary race; it marked the close of the 2026 season. It had been announced from the start that the championships would be decided on October 25, the very day the final stage was run, and the Denizli results directly affected the championship standings. The calendar, which progressed throughout the season with the Baja Germanicia stage, followed by the Bolu leg and stages at the end of September, saw its final act on the soils of Merkezefendi. The Transanatolia, run before the season, was also part of this picture.

To be honest, we do not yet have the complete updated overall points table after the finale; the last update of the federation's points standings page dated from before the final. We will have to wait for this table to be refreshed for official confirmation of the overall class championship. On the other hand, the class results within Baja Denizli itself have been finalized with the official report, and GE Rally Raid Team's leading position in the teams standings shaped the closing of the season in this team's favor.

The Award Ceremony and the Organization's Background

The race concluded with the award ceremony held at the Merkezefendi Municipality Cultural Center at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 25. The participation of Mayor Şeniz Doğan in the ceremony was a concrete reflection of the importance the local government attaches to this event. This is something confirmed by an old observation: The activity that off-road races bring to the region has significantly matured the municipalities' approach to such events over the years. To organizations that once had to make do with putting a grandstand at the edge of the track, today cultural centers, cortege parades and spectator stages are being added.

The first day of the event opened with the race cars parading through the city in a convoy - a traditional segment where spectators came face to face with the cars and drivers before the real battle of the race began. Then came the Friday qualifying stage, which set the starting order, and the heat races were run on Saturday and Sunday.

Results: The 2026 Baja Season Closes in Denizli

The 2026 Türkiye Baja Championship has thus been completed. The Denizli final determined both the class winners and the top of the teams' standings: Abdullah Turgut-Arda Şenay, Ali Kutay-Ebru Demirbay, and GE Rally Raid Team were the names that finished the season as winners. The battle fought by 16 cars and 32 competitors over 343 kilometers wrote the championship's final chapter in full. When the post-final update of the overall classification points table is published, it will be possible to say that the 2026 season is completely over. For now, Denizli has gone down in the records as the final stop of the season and, given the results, the city of the winners.

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