The 12th TransAnatolia Rally Raid, one of the world's most challenging rally races, came to an end in western Türkiye's Eskişehir Monday.
Some 115 local and international racers, including from Italy, France, England, the Netherlands and Australia, participated in the weeklong competition.
The 2,800-kilometer race set off from the historic city of Antakya in Hatay on Aug. 20, went through 13 different provinces across central Anatolia, before finishing in Eskişehir.
This year’s TransAnatolia Rally Raid featured 84 vehicles racing in five different categories – Motorcycle, Quad, SSV, Automobile and Truck.
France's Xavier De Soultrait was the winner of the motorcycle category, followed by Michele Cotti and Ejder Erişti. Italy's Andrea Pighetti won the first-ever Rookie Cup.
In the quad group, Hasan Yatkın, Rasim Akyalı and Kadir Dağlı were ranked as the top three.
Ahmet Bağce and Uğur Tepe finished first in the automobile class, followed by Hüseyin Kurt and Özaydın Dölek in second, Mithat Diker and Erdal Oral in third.
İsrafil Akyüz and Timur Sancak came first in the SSV class, while Barbaros Yangin and Ali Osman Kutanoğlu came in second, Federico Bhutto and Martino Albertini came in third.
The winner of the truck category was Italian duo Marino Mutti and Andrea Mazzoleni, while in the Raid category, the duo of Turgay Düzcü and Anıl Gençtürk finished first.
The race took participants through some of the region’s most important natural and historical sites. The opening stage included the Karatepe Aslantaş National Park, Türkiye’s second-largest nature reserve. Competitors also climbed up to 2,300 meters on Mount Erciyes in central Kayseri, crossed Avanos Mountains, and rode along Lake Tuz.
The 12th TransAnatolia Rally Raid was organized by the Turkish Automobile Sports Federation (TOSFED) and the Turkish Tourism Promotion and Development Agency with support from Türkiye’s Tourism, Sports and Health ministries.
