Salih Yoluc became the most successful Turkish driver to have raced in the FIA World Endurance Championship last weekend, after he rounded out his debut season in the top three.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans hosted the Super Season finale where Salih and TF Sport ran into some problems to finish the race in 11th in class, despite running in the top two up until the early hours of the morning.
A power steering pump issue set the team back 20 minutes and an off for teammate Euan Hankey dropped the team out of the Le Mans contention. But although the race in Le Mans didn’t conclude the way they had hoped for, Salih and team had fought through the season securing four podiums in eight races to finish the year in third place.
Competing in the LMGTE-Am class, Salih has become the most successful World Endurance Championship racing driver from Turkey with the honours he has achieved in just one season.
Salih secured the team’s first pole position during the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in May last year. With the World Endurance Championship transitioning into a Winter Series, the Super Season was brought into place to set up the 2019/20 season in September. It was fought over 14-months with two additional rounds in Spa and Le Mans.
Alongside season-long teammate Charlie Eastwood, Salih finished in second place four times over the course of the season, at both rounds in Spa as well as Silverstone and Fuji. Euan and Jonny Adam rotated the season duties with the team.
TF Sport ended the season finale in Le Mans as the highest placed Aston Martin; also beating the factory car entered in the same class. Like Salih and Charlie, the result secured the team’s third place spot in the standings.
Salih Yoluc “It was an honour to have been a part of the 24 Hours of Le Mans this season, not once, but twice! It was very fun to have raced in the Super Season. The race in Le Mans was going so well, but unfortunately we hit some issues in the night. It’s sad to not have come out of it with a good result, but I am extremely proud to have finished third with Charlie and also the team in our debut season.
“Everybody worked very hard and put in maximum effort. The car was amazing throughout the year and I’m excited to see what the next season holds for us.”