Transanatolia Stage 6: The finish line at Gobeklitepe

© DR

The first riders entered around 2 o’clock of the afternoon in Mardin strategical city of Mesopotamy, in the past, and today big town of Anatolia South East. It’s a very hot day, as it has been in these last days, and the thermometer easily exceeds 40 degrees, which does not affect the performance of the competitors. Yesterday morning they race what will probably be remembered as the fastest special of the entire Transanatolia Rally 2019.

 

Not bad for this first special of a sixth stage measuring a total of 280 kilometers.A long dirt and dusty straight that led the drivers to use all the power horses of their vehicles. Maurizio Gerini (Husqvarna) was, even today, the fastest and arrived himself at the finish of this SS of 29 kilometers with a time of 14’20 », the only motorbikee rider able to go under the threshold of 15 minutes.

Behind him the Turkish, Said Yusuf Cakir on Ktm who stopped the time 15’41 beating Nicola Quinto (Beta) – third in the overall classification – for only seven seconds.Fourth place for the English, Richard Kaye (ktm) and fifth place for Marco Borsi (husqvarna). The second special, the longest of the day with its 85 kilometers, was definitely more challenging, fast in the beginning but then more sinuous and tough. Gerini also won this one with a time of 1h20’28 beating Marco Borsi and Lorenzo Piolini (Ktm) who with this good stage go up to the seventh place in the overall, behind Said Yusuf Cakir sixth to only 59″ by Francesco tarricone, fifth.

Yves Tartarin and Cedric Duplè (Steenbok) have finally hit one of their goals today winning their first stage in this Transanatolia Rally 2019: in the first SS they literally flew on closing with a 14’40 » of only 20″ higher than the Gerini time and they repeated in the second special with a time of 1h.21’58 » detaching Tsanko Tsankov and Zornitsa todorova (Can Am) more than five minutes. However the Bulgarians are the first in the standings with the French second and Çağdaş Çaglar and Ertuğrul Danisment third with their Can Am.

The challenge for the podium of the car category is still very hot: Mert Becce and Sertaç Tatar on Suzuki Vitara won the second special today while the first saw Tank Gokbay and Osman Metin on Land Rover grab the best time. Before the last day of race Becce is leading with little more than 15′ on Batuhan Korkut and Ilayda Hanci Korkut on Mitsubishi L200 firmly second. Not so clear in this moment the third place because between the Land Rover of Tank Gokbay and Toyota of Burak Ahmet Çepni and Hüseyin Afsar there are only 2’04.

Marino Mutti and Andrea mazzoleni managed to start again this morning to dispute this sixth stage and finished second, behind Giulio Verzeletti and in front of Antonio Cabini. At this moment in the overall ranking among the three Unimog Mercedes Cabini is the leader in front of Verzeletti and Mutti.

Today the end of this wonderful edition of the Turkish race with a incredible stage. Yes, because the grand finale was planned at Gobeklitepé, the city where it all began, the so-called zero point of civilization.

This sentence is the slogan of « Göbeklitepe » because its traces, highlighted by recent excavations, bring back the dating of the first human settlements up to 10,400 BC. The stage, the last one of the rally, will count 286 kilometers and, news of yesterday evening, there will be only the first special test, 55 km and a half. The second will be dealt with in transfer by decision of the organization for some problems related to work and small landslides. The last transfer will take the caravan of the rally to Urfas and then to the Archaeological Museum that will open specially for the riders and in front of which the prize giving of this ninth edition of the Transanatolia Rally will take place.

Elisabetta Caracciolo,

PUBLICITÉ