Some 14 female riders race at R25 Championship

ISTANBUL

Yamaha R25 Women’s Racing Championship has been conducted in Türkiye for the second time, with a total of 14 female riders sweating blood on the racecourse in the western province of İzmir.

Fourteen racers, selected after hard tests and qualifications, raced in the İzmir Ülkü Park in two categories.

Sahra Su Önkaya, a 20-year-old woman from the northwestern province of Tekirdağ, bagged the gold medal in the A-Class category.

“Riding a motorcycle is my way of life,” Önkaya, who is a university student, said after the races. “R25 Championship helped me make my dreams come true,” she added.

The runner-up was the 32-year-old İlayda Yağmur Yılmaz, who made a call to all female racers, saying, “Do not shut off your soul. Ride at full throttle.”

Third in the A-Class category was Fatma Baştepe, a 19-year-old university student, who earns money as a motorcycle courier.

In the B-Class category, Nilşan Boyraz, Kardelen Apaydın and Ece Kartaç shared the first three places.

The first of the Yamaha R25 Women’s Cup, which was organized for female racers who wanted to experience the racing challenge but could not get the opportunity in the country’s conditions, was held in İzmir again in May 2021, with no spectators due to COVID-19 pandemic.