YOUNGEST IN THE FIELD, HIGHEST ON THE BOARD
Rüzgar Okman walked into İstanbul Park for the season opener of the 2026 Türkiye Drift Şampiyonası as the youngest driver on the grid. He walked off the qualifying timesheet at the very top.
His best run scored 92. No one else broke 90.
THE NUMBERS
Okman's three runs read 0, 92, and an unused third attempt. The 92 was enough on its own. Behind him, the rest of the PRO field stacked up:
1. Rüzgar Okman — 92
2. Erol Özteknik — 90
3. Çağlar Küçükdumlu — 86
4. Akay Akbil — 85
5. Mehmet Yazgan — 85
THE SAILUN STORY
Okman runs under Sailun Racing Team, the same banner as Erol Özteknik and Akay Akbil. All three made the top five. The 12-year-old finished ahead of both his veteran teammates on his TDŞ debut.
WHO IS RÜZGAR OKMAN?
Okman is from Northern Cyprus and has been making noise in regional motorsport since he was old enough to fit in a seat. In March 2026 he became the youngest race-winning driver in North Cyprus Drift Championship history, taking the Semi-Pro category at NEU Event Park in his very first round of the NCDC season. The same weekend he climbed into a Pro car and reached the semi-finals against drivers two and three times his age.
His Türkiye debut came in October 2025 at the final round of the TOSFED Drift Kupası. He qualified second and finished second. The 92 at İstanbul Park is his first time on top of any timesheet in Türkiye.
WHAT IT MEANS
Qualifying is not the race. The TOP 32 bracket on Sunday is where this round is decided. But leading qualifying at İstanbul Park, the largest venue on the calendar, against a field of senior PRO drivers, at twelve years old, is the kind of statement that does not need a footnote.
Sunday's bracket will tell us how far this story goes.
RACE WEEKEND
📍 İstanbul Park, İstanbul
🏁 Türkiye Drift Şampiyonası 2026 · Round 1
📺 HT Spor live broadcast
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