Q&A: Burcu Çetinkaya - 8 June 2010

Burcu Çetinkaya began her seven-event Intercontinental Rally Challenge programme on Rally d’Italia-Sardegna. Although a technical problem meant she failed to complete the entire route, the 29-year-old said she learned plenty about her Peugeot Sport Turkey 207 Super 2000, something she plans to continue doing for the rest of the season.

When was your first rally and how did you get on?
“It was in Turkey, a local Turkish championship rally and I did it in a Fiat Palio. It was a 105bhp regular car. I finished but we half-rolled because I was going too fast.”

What got you interested in rallying in the first place?
“It was my dream since I was little. My father was managing a lot of automotive brands in Turkey and with him I grew up into cars. I grew up being in cars since I was little. He took me to see my first rally when I was 12. I loved it and there I said I want to do this someday. Finally, in 2005, I sold my road car, a Saab, and I bought a Fiat Palio rally car, I took a bank loan and I started rallying.”

Did you have a job back then?
“At that moment I was working for my father but he said with the rallying it is not possible so I started working with a German company in Germany. It was a difficult time and I lived from my bank loan but my father paid for my rent on my home. Then I got offered work on a TV programme in Turkey and I started doing that four years ago. It’s with a nationwide TV channel and it’s good because they are very flexible and I can go to all the rallies and do the programme as well. I also have a second programme I present. One is about automobiles and new cars that are launched and the other one is about sport.”

What’s it like being a TV presenter?
“I enjoy it of course but it’s also for my living. I can make a living out of rallying but not really a lot. This year I am very lucky and very happy to be able to live my dreams. Any money I can make out of rallying I would rather put it back into education for rallying or to do more testing or even more rallies. I am very lucky I have this TV programme because it’s good for the sponsors. But if you were to ask me TV or rallying I think you know the answer!”

You’ve got a great programme in the IRC with Peugeot Sport Turkey. How important is this year going to be for you?
“It’s a great programme but it’s going to be difficult, especially on the asphalt rallies where I don’t have much experience. Also in the IRC, the competition is very high. But we are doing all we can. We’ve done some testing on asphalt and we will try to do some rallies in France to get used to it. The main goal is to get experience.”

Were you responsible for securing your sponsorship?
“It was team work. Peugeot helped us. Total was from them and we were very lucky to be able to present to the Turkish ministry. We have the Turkish flag on our car and we have some support from the promoting Turkey fund. Besides that Turkish Airlines have also helped. In Turkey it’s a company that everybody loves. We also have sponsorship from Yokohama.”

What is your aim for this season?
“I aim to score points and get experience.”