Orhan Avcioglu

Born on the 4th of September 1985, Orhan Avcioglu was born into a rally legend family as the son of Turkish Rally Champions Azmi-Beyza Avcioglu. Orhan started his motorsport career in 1999 with go-karts. The experience gained during the karting years played a major role in Orhan becoming a fast and consistent rally driver.

After his first rally start in 2005, Orhan raced under Deltasport team with the support of Fiat between 2006 and 2009. During the three year stint, Orhan won local championships in Istanbul and took podium finishes on the national level. By the end of 2008 Orhan enlisted in the military to complete his mandatory service and arrived back in mid-2009 to take part in IMK Rally which took place over the course of the night. Orhan placed second overall in the rally which helped catch the attention of Castrol Ford Team Turkey Manager Serdar Bostancı.

Orhan started his career as a driver with Castrol Ford Team Turkey in late 2009 and spent 2010 getting used to his new car-Fiesta R2 and his new team. 2011 saw a new face in the car with Orhan: Burcin Korkmaz. Together they won their first national level championship-Class 6. In 2012 Orhan and Burcin won Two Wheel Drive category five times out of the seven rallies they contested to become Turkish Rally 2WD Champions.

2013 was a season to gain vital experience with the S2000 in order to step upto 4WD category. In the two races they completed with the S2000 car, Orhan&Burcin placed second overall in Kocaeli Rally and won their first ever overall rally in the most prestigious event in Turkey: Bosphorus Rally which is a part of the European Rally Cup. Having driven the Fiesta R2 for the remainder of the season, Orhan&Burçin became Turkish Rally 2WD Champions for the second year in a row.

2014 saw a new challenge for Orhan&Burcin as they were given the second S2000 car in the team with an ambitious goal to win the Teams Cup. They took the opportunity finished both 2014 and 2015 seasons with multiple wins and third place overall at the Turkish Rally Championship. 2016 was a year where Orhan scored two wins, two second places, and two third places out of seven rallies entered. This resulted in second place overall at the Turkish Rally Championship.

For 2017 season and beyond Orhan and Burcin have signed with Toksport WRT. 2017 have seen Orhan&Burçin compete in their first international series. Competing in WRC Rally RACC Catalunya and WRC Wales Rally GB made Orhan&Burcin the first Turkish crew to compete in WRC2. The crew competed in FIA Balkan Rally Trophy and became FIA ERT Balkan Rally Trophy Winners after scoring podiums in Bulgaria, Romania and wins in Serbia and Turkey.

Orhan and Burcin competed in the European Rally Championship for the first time in 2018, managing five top ten finishes out of eight rallies. Now the goal for 2019 is to be amongst the top five drivers in the European Rally Championship!

Birthday: 4th of September 1985
Education: MS Degree in Business and Technology Management, Clarkson University (2007)
First Rally: 2005 Yesil Bursa Rally

Career Highlights:
• 2017 FIA ERT Balkan Rallly Trophy Winner
• 2016 2nd place Overall Turkish Rally Championship
• 2014, ’15 3rd place Overall Turkish Rally Championship
• 2011, ’12, ’13, ’14, ’15, ’16 Turkish Rally Championship Teams Cup Winners
• 2013 ERT Bosphorus Rally Overall Winner
• 2012, ’13 Turkish Rally 2WD Champion
• 2011, ’12, ’13 Turkish Rally Championship Class 6 Winner
• 2009 Istanbul Junior Rally Champion
• 2008 2nd Place Turkish Junior Rally Championship
• 2007 Istanbul Rally Championship Winner Class 2
• 2007 Turkish Rally Championship 3rd Place – S1600
• 2007 Turkish Rally Championship Teams Cup Winners
• 2006 Istanbul Junior Rally Champion