Turkish racer Erkut Kizilirmak has bought last year’s works Astra Sport Hatches, and will use one of them to contest a full season in the BTCC in 2007.

“Last year I just tried two races and tried to understand the environment and to feel it, and to taste it actually”, commented Kizilirmak. “Now, I’ve decided to follow the full championship this year.”

A full year of BTCC racing is the next step in Kizilirmak’s long term plan: “This season I decided to learn all the circuits, the environment, the competition etc. I think I can speed up the following season I guess. It’s just the beginning. I always do a long term plan, because without a long term plan, you can never get success.”

The BTCC-spec Astras are not eligible for outright championship honours in 2007, but realistically, that is not going to be of any concern to Kizilirmak. It certainly wasn’t top of his list of criteria when shopping around for a car.

“This year I believe that reliability is one of the most important issues in the championship and I’m very lucky because most people are trying new cars, or even old cars with new drivers, so I have some advantage. But this is the only advantage on my side. All the others, like I don’t know the circuits, I don’t know the competition…these are my disadvantages.”

So he’s not going for the title, that’s clear. But what is Kizilirmak hoping to achieve this year?

“If I’m in the midfield and I finish the races, this is what I want to do this year. Then next year, with better discipline from me and knowing the circuits, I need to be more competitive. But this year, just learn it and not do any crazy things. Just learn to finish the races.”

As the first Turkish driver to contest the BTCC, Kizilirmak has attracted quite a following back home: “They’re following what I’m doing. In some respects I’m some sort of hero because I’m the first Turkish driver ever to do the BTCC. They’re supporting me quite well.”

“We do not have such competition in my country. Maximum ten cars, even less than ten cars. This one is the one I’m looking for, and that’s why I’m here. Without competition, you cannot learn.”