The Kocaeli Metropolitan Rally was won by the Uğur Soylu - Soner Tamer crew.

The Uğur Soylu-Soner Tamer crew from GP Garage My Team won the 43rd Kocaeli Büyükşehir Rally; championship leader Kerem Kazaz, meanwhile, dropped out with an alternator belt failure on the 4th special stage. The 6th round of the Petrol Ofisi Maxima 2026 Türkiye Rally Championship concluded as an event held on 16-18 October, where 40 crews took the start and 29 saw the finish.

The scorer changed in Körfez: Soylu-Tamer won, Kazaz was left stranded

The rally began on Friday evening, 16 October, with the ceremonial start in İzmit. With the start given at 18:30, the first night set the rhythm of the event for both the spectators watching from the glass and those on the field; the hard work began the next morning. On Saturday, the crews, after the Bıçakçılar (Derince) and Üçtepeler (İzmit) stages, each run twice, closed the day with the final stage held at the Körfez Race Circuit.

The crew leading after the first day was Soylu-Tamer. Behind them were Can Alakoç-Bilge Ayan from Castrol Ford Team Türkiye, and in third place were Eytan Halfon-Gürkal Menderes from GP Garage My Team. This order held firm until the end of the race, and Soylu-Tamer, winning the overall classification as well, pocketed the Class 2 victory too. The team championship was also claimed by the same team, GP Garage My Team.

The real drama of the rally, however, befell the championship leader. Team Petrol Ofisi drivers Kerem Kazaz-Ross Whittock, arriving at the top of the overall classification with 104 points, led through the first three stages. But the alternator belt problem on the 4th special stage was enough for the duo to be eliminated at the start of the final stage. Kazaz's farewell to this rally is not just the outcome of a single race; it is a development that has a direct impact on the upper rungs of the points table.

Alternator belt: small part, big price

Someone experienced in rallying goes under: you always assume the cause of a retirement is a mechanical failure, but sometimes a single belt ruins the entire season plan. The alternator belt manages electricity generation along with the engine's running signal; a snapped belt cuts charging, battery voltage drops, and the entire electronic hardware is put at risk. It is not always possible to pull into service on the field; time lost in stage traffic turns into lost points.

Kazaz leading through the first three stages shows that the pace and preparation were right. But in rallying the real question, within a championship structure where only finishers score points, is that durability counts for points as much as performance. I have been watching for years: safety first, then speed. Even being a little generous in spare parts selection pays for itself in the long run.

Who won the 43rd Kocaeli Rally, how did the results shape up?

The overall standings, classes, and class winners shaped up as follows:

In the two-wheel drive class, the ranking behind Soylu was completed by the Uğur Kaban-Mert Kaya duo and the Ömer Faruk Çabuk-Alperen Tetik team. The day one leaders in the two-wheel drive and class 4 categories were the Yıldıray Demircioğlu-Koray Akgün team; the battle within the standings was quite lively throughout the week.

18-year-old Can Alakoç was one of the standout names of day one. In addition to finishing second in the overall standings, he also took first place in class 3. This young driver's rise should be read as a genuine success story at the end of the rally: completing the same stages within the same time as the experienced team is a signal as meaningful as a single victory for the seasons ahead.

40 starts, 29 finishes: How did the event go?

The number of teams starting the event was announced in the preliminary news as 42 cars and 84 competitors; the reports published on rally day stated that 40 cars took the start. Such small differences arise from the pre-race lists being revised during final checks and scrutineering; the number that truly matters in the field is the one that makes it onto the grid after practice and documentation checks. By the end of day one, 31 cars had finished; by the end of the rally, the number of teams completing had dropped to 29.

That ratio is not bad for rallying. 29 of 40 teams completing the rally shows that the balance between a demanding but forgiving course was set correctly. Nine special stages totaling 111 kilometers were spread over three days; the service park was set up at the Körfez Race Track. Having the service park inside the circuit made things easier for the technical crews and also offered an organization close to the local spectators.

The finish and award ceremony took place on Sunday, October 18, at 16.20 at Kocaeli National Will Square. Holding the finish ceremony in the city center is a detail that brings spectators to the rally; in the past, finishes would pass quietly at the service park, but now a final culture that meets the public in the city center has formed.

In which direction did the championship standings change?

The 43rd Kocaeli Rally was the sixth round of the Petrol Ofisi Maxima 2026 Türkiye Rally Championship. In the previous rounds of the season, the EOSK (April 29-May 2), KAROSK (June 5-7), BOSSEK (August 21-23), and Başkent (September 18-20) rallies had been run; that is, as the season nears its end, every point lost is felt directly at the top of the standings.

Kazaz's retirement from the race is significant enough to cause shifts in the overall classification standings. However, the updated overall standings after the rally have not yet been fully verified through official results systems at the time this article was prepared. For this reason, rather than giving a definitive ranking of the points table, it is necessary to wait for the official results to be published for the picture to become clear. You don't need to be a prophet to predict that the remaining rounds ahead of Kazaz will re-establish the championship's dynamism.

Comparing with past years also clarifies just how prestigious an arena this rally has become: in 2025, Kerem Kazaz won the 42nd edition, while in 2024 it was Buğra Banaz, in 2023 Ali Türkkan, and in 2022 Orhan Avcıoğlu at the top. In other words, most of the names who have won the rally in recent years are among the strongest drivers in the overall classification. Soylu-Tamer's addition to this list is no coincidence; finishing the 3-day battle in the lead on a stage where only a portion of the 29 crews could complete it is the work of a team holding a solid set.

How did the adverse weather conditions affect the rally?

The organizing Kocaeli Automobile Sports Club (KOSK) made an announcement during the rally due to adverse weather conditions. The detailed text of the announcement has not yet been fully reflected to the public as stated; however, it appears that the rally program was preserved in its general outline, and the start ceremony and the finish award ceremony took place at the planned hours. Weather-related revisions to the rally calendar are an expected situation, especially in the autumn rounds.

Years ago, such a development was a reason for some crews to abandon the race. Today, weather data has become a standard part of the job in details such as belt, tire, and gear selection; crews enter the field with a scenario of switching to a different set at the morning service. As the championship has matured, the impact of such minor fluctuations on the race result has decreased considerably compared to the past.

Summary: Who won what in Körfez?

The clear balance sheet of the 43rd Kocaeli Metropolitan Rally is as follows: overall winner and Class 2 winner Uğur Soylu-Soner Tamer, team winner GP Garage My Team, in the two-wheel drive class Osman Ceylan-Batuhan Doğan, and in Class 3 the first day's leader Can Alakoç-Bilge Ayan. Championship leader Kerem Kazaz's retirement from the race in the 4th special stage should be noted as the development that reopened the overall classification for the remaining rounds of the season.

The numbers for the rally are clear: 3 days, 9 special stages, 111 kilometers, 40 starts, 29 finishes. How everyone will return to the championship will become clear when the official points table is published. But the lesson Körfez taught this year is clear: in rallying, it is not the fastest but the most resilient who wins.

Sources

• Day one is behind us at the 43rd Kocaeli Rally: Kerem Kazaz bid farewell to the rally
• Uğur Soylu-Soner Tamer won the 43rd Kocaeli Metropolitan Rally
• Rally Excitement Moves to Körfez - TOSFED
• The 43rd Kocaeli Metropolitan Rally started with a ceremonial start
• The winners of day one at the Kocaeli Metropolitan Rally
• Competition Details - TOSFED