Rally Turkey officials at TOSFED have now had the route for the 11th round of the FIA World Rally Championship officially approved by the FIA. The event will be based in Marmaris and takes place on September 12th-15th.
The itinerary features 17 special stages and 310.10 competitive kilometres in a route of 988.50km.
There are several minor revisions to the successful format used in 2018, including the introduction of a 17km Kizlan stage (SS10 and SS13) that offers a spectacular backdrop, as it winds its way around the coastline, and the twisty Çiçekli special (SS16) that has moved from Friday to a Sunday morning slot and will run in the opposite direction to 2018 and precedes the Wolf Power Stage finale.
The service park will again be situated in the hills at Asparan, a short distance from Marmaris, and crews will tackle the short shakedown stage at Değirmenyani to open proceedings on Thursday, September 12th.
The ceremonial start at Marmaris Meyden and the two-kilometre super special stage on Thursday evening are sure to attract thousands of spectators in Marmaris town centre before the on-stage action commences on Friday morning.
Teams face six special stages on Friday, starting with the first of two runs through the 24.80km of Içmeler and the first pass through a slightly revised Çetibeli test that is the longest of the rally at 38.15km. The first of two passes through Ula (16.57km) precedes a return to service at Asparan and the repeat of the three specials in the afternoon.
Six stages feature in the timetable for Saturday, September 14th. The 33km of Yeşilbelde opens the day’s action and runs through Datça (8.75km) and the new Kizlan stage precede a service and regroup at Asparan. The three specials are then repeated on Saturday afternoon.
Datça may be a short special by WRC standards, but it offers incredible scenery and spectacular backdrops to the sea.
Two runs through the 7.22km Marmaris stage – the second acting as the Wolf Power Stage – and Gökçe (11.32km) and Çiçekli (13.20km) ensure that the final section on Sunday, September 15th will be anything but straightforward.
The Marmaris test starts in the town of Içmeler and finishes in the service park, the Power Stage making for a fitting end to what promises to be a thrilling WRC rally on the Turquoise Coast for a second successive year.
Rally Turkey first joined the prestigious WRC calendar in 2003 and was held until 2010 before returning to the calendar in 2018. On the event’s return last year, Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja claimed a 22.3-second victory in their Toyota Yaris WRC.
The official candidate event in 2017 marked the first time that the event had run on stages in the Marmaris and Muğla regions of the Turkish Riviera. That event was won by the Turkish duo of Orhan Avcioğlu and Burçín Korkmaz.
