4 Wheel Drive - Off-Road Adventure of Antalya
The desire for recognition and conquering nature is what attracts humanity to nature for centuries. Movement is the essence of life and in this geography, the desire to challenge nature with the custom-made 4x4 off-road vehicles is increasing day by day.
In the future, due to its natural racecourses and geographical advantages, Turkey is a country which has the potential of holding a significant position in the outdoor sports tourism. The requirement for the auto sports on nature is the proof of an old soul and lifestyle becoming widespread.
When I came to Alanya, I found out that my neighbor is a member of the Alanya Off-Road Club and he was attending occasionally organized competitions and events. I wanted him to take me to the next event. The first off-road organization I participated was the 1st Akdeniz Off-Road Games which took place on December 1st 2013, Sunday. In this first organization of off-road games which has a visual richness among the auto sports, I was there as a media member and I knew that at that place will be nice snapshots. As a person who prefers to be in nature rather than be on path prepared for off-road, maybe in another organization, you may see me as the teammate of the pilot who overcomes the racecourses in the nature. Why not after serious training and gaining experience!
The arrangement of competition certified by Turkey Automobile Sports Federation belongs to the Kemer Motorsports Club and took place in TOSFED racecourse, which is also known as World Rally Championship Special Stage that is next to Antalya University Campus Uncalı entrance gate. Twenty-three vehicles get involved in the organization to compete in four categories in total, 18 vehicles finished the competition. The categories were specified as class4 2000cc, class1 2001cc-2500cc, class2 2501cc-4000cc, class3 4001cc and higher. Participation of professional race vehicles and racers in the game has been forbidden because of this reason; this organization was for the people who see off-road sport as a lifestyle and as a hobby.
Six pilots from the Alanya Off-Road Club who was going to attend the competition, set off the day before. We met the vehicles at 7:00 o’clock at the station, fuel was obtained, tea was drunk, morning talk was done, after all the vehicles that will participate in the event gathered, we set off. After a breakfast and tea break in Side, we continued our journey and reached Antalya about 10:00 o’clock.
The organization was planned to become a tradition in Antalya, which is one of the most important tourism centers of the Mediterranean. When we entered the organizational area, I have to say that I disappointed because of the deficiencies. In the organizational area, if the cleaning was done, attendants were not taken care of it adequately. I had another disappointment when I needed to use the toilet. Since there was just one toilet, it was not possible to meet the needs of people who came as participants or audiences from the different cities of the country. There was also security problem that I noticed after the competition started. The children and friends of the competitors and some of the audience were stepping in the racecourse that it was the proof of a huge security gap. Also, I have to mention another problem that because of the audiences, even attendants, who were trying to filming and recording via mobile phones, press members hardly did their duty.
In my opinion; the cleaning, security and the presentation of the competition by the press should have been the points to be taken care of as a priority in the organization that arranged for the first time. Nevertheless, as the Alaturka.Info™ staff, we are conscious of the difficult stages of an important organizational arrangement and we wish all of these deficiencies will be made up for the next organization and off-road excitement appeals to the whole country.
While audiences were observing the 4x4 vehicles closely, the competing crews toured around for training. At the briefing after the training; competition rules and points should be considered during the competition were reminded again to pilots and co-pilots. The competing crews were going to try to go through hoops on the racecourse by using the mechanical powers of 4x4 vehicles, their pilotage skills and generating creative solution abilities. The crew was going to struggle with time vehemently in order to finish the racecourse which consists of natural and tough stages.
After the briefing, all of us were ready to be a part of this exciting adventure. Off-road audiences, who were the proof of the enjoyable side of the competition format, came to watch a competition that speed and pilotage came into prominence.
My assistant Mevlüt, a friend of mine who likes to travel through the difficult conditions with his own 4x4 terrain vehicle, had good guesses about the gates that vehicles have difficulty. With the help of his estimations, we located at the gate number one at first and we waited for the beginning of the second stage. When the first vehicle was seen on the racecourse, we started to witness the muddy and dynamic adventure of defeating struggle along the difficult stages. The first vehicle passed without any problem, but the second one encountered an obstacle and this reminded us that team spirit is an important element in this activity. The co-pilot jumped from the vehicle and tried to save the stuck vehicle. When his efforts were remained incapable, the rescue vehicle was required.
On the next passing’s, we witnessed that a rescue vehicle, which came for another vehicle, was also stuck in the barrier and there was a wrecker to pull through it. We experienced exciting moments throughout the competition and the successful performance of the rescue crews continued at the different stages.
In this enjoyable adventure, which gathered the 4x4 off-road fans and curious audience together, we observed that there was an increase in the audience number when we returned to the service area at the end of the second stage.
On the second stage, we located at the last two gates and the muddy competition, which satisfied the off-road audience visually, continued. We estimate that the adventure of humankind, defeating the natural obstacles with the 4x4 vehicles, was watched by all the participants of the organization with pleasure.
The event ended with an award ceremony after the announcement of the results and we set off through Alanya. At the end of the competition, in Class 1 Niyazi Gören / Hüseyin Can, in Class 2 Tahsin Biner / Hüseyin Başusta, in Class 3 Adil Müftüoğlu / Kadir Kasapoğlu and in Class 4 Turgut Kozan / Enis Koçak crews came first.