Championship Leader Kerem Kazaz Faces a Tough Test at the 43rd Kocaeli Rally

The snapping of an alternator belt extinguished a 104-point championship lead in a single sentence; that's rally's cruelest mathematics at work.
The snapping of an alternator belt extinguished a 104-point championship lead in a single sentence; that's rally's cruelest mathematics at work.

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The 43rd Kocaeli Metropolitan Rally, the sixth round of the Petrol Ofisi Maxima 2026 Türkiye Rally Championship, October 16-18 on the dates with 42 cars and 84 athletes got underway. Championship leader Kerem Kazaz's plans to secure the top spot were dashed by an unexpected technical failure on the first day: the young driver, who arrived at the top with 104 points, was forced to retire from the rally due to an alternator belt problem. Those who have spent years in this business know it well; the most painless breaking points in a championship bid come exactly like this, with a belt snapping that you cannot blame anyone for.

Highlights

  • 42 cars, 84 athletes; 3 days, 9 special stages, a total of 111 kilometers.
  • Championship leader Kerem Kazaz, on the 4th special stage alternator belt failure, was forced out of the race.
  • First day leader: from GP Garage My Team, Uğur Soylu - Soner Tamer.
  • In the TOSFED Rally Cup, Ömer Güneş, leads with 77 points and closed Kocaeli's first day in front as well.
  • The start ceremony Friday, October 16 at 18:30 at Milli İrade Square; the finish podium Sunday, October 18 at 16:20.

What is the program for the 43rd Kocaeli Rally?

The event followed the classic three-day rally rhythm. The ceremonial start on Friday evening at Milli İrade Square in İzmit once again passed with scenes reminding the heart of the city of what a rally is. The crowd then shifted to Körfez; at the TOSFED Körfez Race Circuit on Friday, starting from 19:30 the Otokar spectator special stage was run. For years, this stage has been the rally's closest and most theatrical face to the spectators; the rehearsal for the breathtaking battle on the gravel takes place here.

Saturday and Sunday are where the real work lies: gravel stages were concentrated on these two days. The service park was also set up at the Körfez Race Circuit; in the past there used to be long transfers between the circuit and the service park, but now everything is under the same roof. The organization bears the signature of the Kocaeli Automobile Sports Club (KOSK); alongside Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality and Körfez Municipality, Otokar, Remed Assistance, Salados, Fora, Auto Club, Power App, Telsan and Auto Karasu were also among the supporters.

  • Friday, October 16, 18:30: Start ceremony, Kocaeli Milli İrade Square.
  • Friday, October 16, after 19:30: Otokar spectator special stage at the TOSFED Körfez Race Circuit.
  • Sunday, October 18, 16:20: Finish podium, Milli İrade Square; award ceremony on the same day.

A small note should be made about participation: the official statement before the organization counted 42 cars and 84 athletes; however, news reports on race day say the number of cars that started was 40. It is not hard to say that teams withdrawing at the last minute explain this difference; between the rally start and the first stage, one sometimes sees cars without bodywork, or even with engines that have not warmed up.

How was Kerem Kazaz's bid for the top spoiled in Kocaeli?

Team Petrol Ofisi driver Kerem Kazaz went into the rally leading with 104 points . The 20-year-old driver's résumé is short but impressive: the name who won the title of Türkiye's youngest rally champion, 2024 and 2025 finished seasons back-to-back at the top and is now counting on a third championship. Closing the previous season with 158 points, and finishing 32 points ahead of his closest rival, is the most honest answer this sport can give to the young-but-experienced debate: Kazaz is a driver who knows how to stay where he has won.

In the 2026 season he is racing with the Hyundai i20 N Rally 2 and with Hyundai support; he also competes simultaneously in the WRC's JWRC category. In the first half of the season he kept his lead with the Bursa Rally victory and won the Cappadocia Rally for the second consecutive time. In the teams' classification, Team Petrol Ofisi is 25 points ahead; Castrol Ford Team Türkiye sits second with Ali Türkkan with 18 points .

In Kocaeli, the picture followed the plan in the early stages too: Kazaz, with Ross Whittock beside him, was at the top of the overall classification after the first three special stages. Then things changed. On the 4th special stage, an alternator belt problem emerged, and the pair was eliminated at the start of the final stage. That is what a breakdown in rallying is like; it is not dramatic like a rock hitting the gearbox at the start of a stage, it quietly slips under the belt and you are voted out. In terms of championship math, this loss will force Kazaz to rethink his points management in the remaining rounds.

Another detail was on Kazaz's agenda at the start of the week: co-driver Corentin Silvestre, who had been with him all season, underwent surgery due to fractures in his back after the Chile Rally. In Kocaeli, Ross Whittock sat in Kazaz's right seat. Co-driver changes are a routine practice even in the most unfavorable periods of a rally; the pace notes, if correct, make no difference if the pace is there.

Who finished the first day in the lead?

18 yaşındaki Can Alakoç'un sınıf liderliği, Türk rallisinin gençlik politikasının meyvelerini verdiğini gösteriyor.

With Kazaz's exit, the battle for the lead on the first day slipped down the order as expected. Of the 40 cars that started, only 31 were able to finish the day; that rate is enough to summarize how unforgiving the Kocaeli terrain is. The first-day leader was the Uğur Soylu - Soner Tamer pair from GP Garage My Team. In second place were Can Alakoç - Bilge Ayan from Castrol Ford Team Türkiye; the fact that 18-year-old Alakoç also holds the Class 3 lead means that Turkish rallying's youth policy is bearing fruit. Third place again came from GP Garage My Team: Eytan Halfon - Gürkal Menderes.

On Saturday, the Bıçakçılar (Derince) and Üçtepeler (İzmit) stages, each run twice, were the sections that sealed the day's fate. The final stage was completed at the Körfez Race Track. Sunday was planned with 4 special stages and a closing award ceremony; so even the first-day leader holding their position does not mean they can yet cut the corner.

What is Ömer Güneş's situation in the TOSFED Rally Cup?

The story within the Cup progresses with less noise than the overall classification but just as steadily. In the TOSFED Rally Cup bearing the name of Behiç Yurdaçalışan, Ömer Güneş, with 77 points, leader. Racing with technical support from Parkur Racing, Güneş took the Bursa Rally's overall classification and Category 3 victory in the same weekend this season; he had also closed out last season as the winner of the overall classification and Category 3 in the Cup. Such consistency is no coincidence; teams that have remained standing in the Cup for years build victory not on luck but on weekend planning.

Things also went close to plan in Kocaeli: On the first day, the duo of Ömer Güneş - Ege Can Ünlü finished the Cup in the lead. For Güneş, the rest of the season will be built on completing the gravel stages and protecting the points without giving up the top seat. Among the standout names in the overall classification, in Two-Wheel Drive and Class 4, Yıldıray Demircioğlu - Koray Akgün was also among those who closed the first day in the leading position.

Why are Kocaeli's gravel roads still considered the test of rallying?

The fact that this event is being run for the 43rd time is a data point in itself. A rally organization lasting more than forty years in Türkiye shows that the course is not only gravel, but also carries tradition. A special stage distance of 111 kilometers is not considered short by international standards; it immediately punishes a mistake with points and limits the chance of recovery. Thirty-one vehicles managing to finish the day behind a leader whose alternator belt had come off is the summary of the course's character. The sixth of the championship's seven rounds is run here; although mathematically the final word has not yet been spoken, the overall picture will have become much clearer by the end of Kocaeli.

On Sunday evening, the finish podium will be set up at Milli İrade Square. A podium without Kazaz would produce the season's most intriguing image for the championship: whether a driver defending his lead will stand in the grandstands or in the service park at the close of a rally he did not win will also determine the psychology of the remainder of 2026. That is the kind of sport rallying is; sometimes the greatest victory is surviving the weekend you lost.

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