The Kandıra Leg of the Extreme Cup Postponed Due to Weather Conditions
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The 3rd round of the 2026 Extreme Cup, planned to be run in Kandıra, round of the 2026 Extreme Cup, planned to be held in Kandıra, has been postponed by one week to October 24-25, 2026 due to adverse weather conditions. The new schedule of the event, organized by the 4x4 Osmanlı Offroad Sports Club in cooperation with the Kandıra Municipality and listed on the TOSFED calendar as a local competition; includes the start ceremony to be held in front of the Kandıra Municipality at 11.30 on Saturday, October 24, and the stages to be run on the course at the Pembe Kayalıklar (Pink Cliffs) location.
Highlights
- The race will be run on October 24-25, 2026 instead of October 17-18
- The start ceremony will be held in front of the Kandıra Municipality on Saturday, October 24 at 11.30
- The course will be set up at the Pembe Kayalıklar location
- Competitors will collect points in the TR1 (series chassis) and TR2 (special chassis) classes
- The award ceremony at Sunday, October 25, 17.30 will close out the day
Why was the Kandıra offroad race postponed?
The answer is short and clear: bad weather. The originally planned October 17-18 weekend was deemed unsuitable due to the extraordinary weather conditions affecting the region, and the race was moved back by one week. The postponement decision was announced through the federation's official channels; the Kandıra Municipality also shared a statement to the public emphasizing that the safety of competitors and spectators was given top priority.
It is a fact well known to those who look closely at this business: in offroad racing, weather conditions are not an organizational detail, but a matter of safety and course integrity. Passages through sand and rock, climbs up ramps with locked differentials, muddy gates - all of these depend on ground conditions. When the ground gets soaked or the water level rises in flood-prone areas, the organizers must bear the risks that await the driver, no matter how experienced he may be. In the old days, such decisions were made through late-night phone traffic; now the federation's official announcement reaches all teams and spectators via social media within minutes. The only thing that has changed is the speed of communication; the principle remains the same: safety is non-negotiable.
New date and updated race schedule
The most elegant aspect of the postponement is that the structure of the program has been preserved. The two-day format remains exactly the same; only the dates have shifted by one week. The first-day and second-day stages, along with their time slots, are as follows:
| Day | Time | Program |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday, October 24 | 11.30 | Start ceremony, in front of the Kandıra Municipality |
| Saturday, October 24 | 15.30 | First-day race at the Pembe Kayalıklar location |
| Sunday, October 25 | 14.00 | Second-day race in the same area |
| Sunday, October 25 | 17.30 | Award ceremony |
The second day's stage will be run in the classic local offroad format, where 4x4 vehicles race against the clock while overcoming obstacles, gates, and difficult passages. The award ceremony, at 17.30 on Sunday, forms the final stop that will officially close out the two-day marathon.
The Pembe Kayalıklar course: Kandıra's natural racing ground
The heart of the race is the Kandıra Pink Rocks Race Course, established under the sponsorship of Kandıra Municipality. The course, set up in the Pink Rocks area, features challenging technical passages where offroad teams struggle due to the region's unique rock and sand structure. This geography on the Black Sea coast continues to be the choice for local competitions because it offers ridges, valley mouths, and soft ground sections all in one place.
The character of the course also makes the class division of race vehicles meaningful. On difficult passages, chassis strength, suspension geometry, and body flexibility on extremely angled obstacles become decisive; in other words, the course tests not only the driver's reflexes but also the engineering of the prepared vehicle. As someone who has watched this scene for years, I can safely say this: On natural courses like the Pink Rocks, a series appearance is misleading. A vehicle shows its true face the moment it first hits the rocks.
TR1 and TR2: which vehicle will race in which class?
There are two classes in the organization. The distinction is made according to the originality of the chassis:
- TR1: Vehicles whose conventional chassis has not been modified. Versions that preserve the skeleton of a series production vehicle and have been made race-ready with safety equipment score points in this class.
- TR2: Vehicles with specially prepared chassis. Machines built for this purpose, with tubular frames and skeletons constructed specifically for offroad racing.
This distinction has been used in local calendars for many years and offers a practical criterion for spectators as well. In TR1, you will see vehicles you could spot on the street being driven at their limits; in TR2, the specialized, purely racing-oriented side of the sport comes into play. The two classes running on the same course gives the organization both intimacy and technical depth.
What does the postponement mean for participants and spectators?
For the teams, a one-week delay is not a grueling logistics matter as it would be on major championship calendars. In a local competition, entrants come mostly from regional teams; vehicles and towing equipment travel short distances. The real impact is in the preparation process: course timing, vehicle settings, and final tests are pushed forward by one week. For experienced teams, this means a breath of relief; the ground dries out, and there is time for the crew to fine-tune the setup.
On the spectator side, the new date simply means updating the viewing plan. The club organizing the event invites racing enthusiasts and motorsport fans to come and watch in Kandıra. The two-day stages offer motorsport enthusiasts who want to spend a weekend in the coastal town a program where nature and racing meet. Before winter conditions come knocking, this date stretching to the end of October is actually a reasonable window for spectators as well: daylight hours are still sufficient, the weather is cool but suitable for the vehicles that will run on the course.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the new race date? Saturday and Sunday, October 24-25, 2026.
- Where will the start be given? From in front of the Kandıra Municipality building at 11:30 on Saturday, October 24.
- Where is the course? On the race course set up at the Pembe Kayalıklar (Pink Cliffs) area.
- Which classes are racing? TR1 and TR2.
- When is the award ceremony? At 17:30 on Sunday, October 25.
Kandıra's place in the calendar
This postponement is not an isolated gap in the Türkiye offroad calendar, but a good example of a context-driven decision. The 6th and final round of the PETLAS 2026 Türkiye Offroad Championship, the season's major event, was held on October 9-11 in Karasu, Sakarya. and the final leg, was run on October 9-11 in Karasu, Sakarya. The Extreme Cup round in Kandıra, on the other hand, is positioned as a local-status event where regional teams get the opportunity to compete within the federation calendar. The one-week gap between the two events offers a natural sequence for Kandıra, both in terms of geographic proximity and spectator turnout.
As a result, the offroad excitement in Kandıra is not canceled but postponed: The equipment and vehicles gathered in front of the municipality building on Saturday morning, October 24, will meet the course at Pembe Kayalıklar in the afternoon. On a weekend when the weather permits, the duel of the TR1 and TR2 machines over rock and sand will meet its audience.