Ann Tahincioglu, Nuray Esener and Melis Ceker
The Volkswagen Polo Ladies’ Cup was an all-female one-make series which ran in Turkey between 2005 and 2006. It was announced as part of a package of new club championships for Turkey in the wake of the opening of the Istanbul grand prix circuit.
The entry list contained a mixture of experienced circuit racers, drivers from other disciplines (including rally co-drivers), women who had achieved fame in other sports and a few celebrities. 2005 champion Ann Tahincioglu had been involved in Turkish motorsport for years and was the oldest driver at 49. Nuray Esener and Sanem Celik also had circuit experience. Didem Coksayar and Melis Ceker had co-driven in rallies; 2006 entrant Burcu Cetinkaya had been a Turkish ladies’ rally champion. Yasemin Dalkilic had set records in freediving and Zeynep Ozenc had represented Turkey in volleyball. The celebrity drivers included fashion designer Secilay Du Pre. 2006 champion Gunes Ippekan started the 2005 Cup as a complete novice and was also the youngest driver, at 25.
Seventeen cars lined up for the first race at Izmit Bay. The championship’s other three rounds were held at Istanbul. An additional race was held at Lausitz in Germany as a guest support for the DTM.
A 1900cc turbodiesel version of the Polo was used. Cars were run by various teams with different sponsorship deals.
In 2006, two drivers in the championship received a guest entry into a round of the DTM-supporting German Polo Cup. Champion Gunes Ippekan and fifth-placed Melis Ceker made the trip to the Netherlands for their two races.
Championship results
2005
- Ann Tahincioglu
- Nuray Esener
- Melis Ceker
2006
- Gunes Ippekan
- Ann Tahincioglu
- Nuray Esener
- Ebru Sile
- Melis Ceker
- Ayse Sule Bilgic
- Demet Kapani
- Yasemin Dalkilic
- Didem Coksayar
- Aysa Alparslan
(Image copyright nurayurkmez.com)