Offroad Championship Concluded in Karasu: Champions Determined

The sixth and final round of the PETLAS 2026 Türkiye Offroad Championship was held on October 9-11 in the Karasu district of Sakarya, and the class winners of the season's last race have been determined. In the Automobile class, the Ahmet Köse-Birol Çoruhlu team took first place, while in the SSV category, the pair of Seda Koçak Kayım-Bora Kayım stood at the top. 25 vehicles and 50 athletes competed in the finals where a total of 47 kilometers of course was completed in four stages over two days.

How Was the Karasu Final Round Run?

Choosing Karasu as the final stop of the offroad calendar is no coincidence; the district's coastline and sandy terrain offer one of the most characteristic courses for this sport in Türkiye. In the event organized by the 54 Automobile Sports Club, various institutions, along with the Karasu Municipality, provided support. Competitors came to Karasu from a wide geography stretching from Fethiye to Giresun, from Ankara to Istanbul; representatives of eight provinces contributed to the podium battle.

The program opened on Friday, October 9 with a ceremonial start on Cumhuriyet Street in Karasu. The following day, Saturday, four stages were run between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM; athletes raced against the clock on the Karasu Endurance Stage and Küçükboğaz Coast courses. The start list for this day featured 24 vehicles. On Sunday, between 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM, the three stages of the sand-heavy Karasu Sand Storm Stage were run, and 18 vehicles, 36 athletes took to the course. Open to spectators, this stage became the most watched part of the final. Driving in sand requires a completely different kind of mastery than muddy forest stages; it is a job won by whoever maintains the right rhythm rather than who floors the throttle. As someone who has followed this calendar for more than thirty years, I am honestly not surprised that the sand stage is remembered as one of the most distinctive and exciting battles of the season.

The service area was set up in the Esti region for three days. On the first day, some teams had to retire from the race due to the load the terrain conditions placed on their vehicles; by the nature of offroad, such unfortunate moments are an inseparable part of every event. It should also be noted that total participation should not be confused with daily stage participation: while the total starts spread across two days were 25 vehicles, 50 athletes, on the final day's sand stage alone, this number drops to 18 vehicles. The fact that the 47-kilometer course mentioned in breaking news headlines was covered three times on the final day also points to the same distinction; course length and the number of vehicles participating daily are separate things.

Automobile and SSV Class Results: Who Won?

The official standings of the final race brought the season to a close with a clear picture. In the Automobile category there was the classic scene familiar to teams that have eaten their share of dust: track knowledge, service discipline, and mutual trust. The Ahmet Köse–Birol Çoruhlu team held all three together and took their place at the top. In the SSV category, the Seda Koçak Kayım–Bora Kayım pair claimed first place with the Can-Am Maverick R. SSV is the class for purpose-built off-road motorsport vehicles in which the driver and co-driver sit side by side; in recent years it has been the fastest-growing branch of offroad.

Female Drivers and Co-Drivers Standings

The Karasu final was also remarkable in terms of the female athletes' performance. In the female drivers' category, Seda Koçak Kayım crowned her overall SSV victory with a class win; she was followed by Gözde Dila Bayık and Melis Aksöz. Among the female co-drivers, Yasemin Biber Toker finished first and Gülten Toprak second. If we recall that female athletes used to be seen mostly in the co-driver's seat in offroad, the fact that today a name winning the overall standings sits in the driver's seat tells on its own how much the field has changed.

Karasu's Place in the Season Calendar

The 2026 season opened in Trabzon, and the second round was held in early May at Kahramanmaraş Kapıçam, where 22 vehicles and 44 athletes took the start. The third round took place in Düzce, and the fifth round, held on 11-13 September in Ankara Mühye with 34 vehicles and 68 athletes, became one of the season's largest events. The final in Karasu was the closing stage of this long marathon. Before the finals, a local press launch was also hosted by the Karasu Municipality, showing how much the district embraced the event. Comparing the season's first round with its final, the participation numbers show a remarkable balance; this demonstrates that the calendar can find a reliable body of athletes in every region.

Award Ceremony and an Incident-Free Final

After the final day, an award ceremony was held on Sunday, 11 October at 6:00 p.m. at the Karasu Social Development Center. The trophies were presented by Karasu Mayor İshak Sarı and the protocol delegation; the ceremony saw broad participation including Deputy District Gendarmerie Commander Eser Levent Sevimli, Provincial Director of Youth and Sports Cemil Boz, District Gendarmerie Commander Onur Yaldırak, and 54 OSK President Gökhan Göç. Mayor Sarı himself took to the course as a competitor; it was reported that an incident-free race was the greatest source of joy for him. For those who know what this means in offroad, this sentence is worth more than any podium medal. Paramotor displays also offered a visual contribution at the final race.

Are the Winners Season Champions? A Note on Conceptual Distinction

Precision is required here: the teams that won the Karasu race and the overall classification champions of the 2026 season are not the same concept. The statements published after the final did not include season-long points tables; declaring a team the Türkiye champion without a verified points situation would be contrary to the practices of this field. For this reason, on this page we have based our coverage on the classification winners of the Karasu final round. The federation's official points standings page remains the reference point for season-wide points situations. In an environment where the term championship is easily used in headlines, maintaining this distinction is, in my view, a matter of courtesy toward the reader.

Where Is Offroad in Türkiye Headed?

The 2026 calendar shows that a season spread over six rounds took the caravan to the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, and Central Anatolia alike. The Karasu final, with its stages run at Küçükboğaz Beach, is concrete proof of this diversity. The rise of the SSV class is also a notable trend; as the models from manufacturers become more accessible, this branch, which once remained in the shadow of the automobile class, now takes the top spot in headlines. The Kayım team's final victory is a current example of this transformation. The season has closed; now all eyes are turned to when next year's calendar will be announced and when the points tables will receive official confirmation.

Sources

• Champions Determined at Karasu – TOSFED
• The Karasu stage of the Türkiye Offroad Championship's final round was run – Anadolu Agency
• Grand Final at Karasu, Crowned with an Award Ceremony – Karasu Municipality
• Offroad Festival at Küçükboğaz, Sakarya – TOSFED
• 2026 Türkiye Offroad Championship Karasu Final: Winners Determined – Doğayı Dinle
• TOSFED race results
• Off-road final in Karasu, Sakarya with 50 athletes – Sondakika
• Off-Road Final at Karasu Took Everyone's Breath Away: 18 Vehicles Competed – Netgaste
• The final round of the Türkiye Offroad Championship continued with the Karasu stage – NTV Spor
• The second round of the 2026 Türkiye Offroad Championship will be run at Kapıçam – Kahramanmaraş Metropolitan Municipality