Turkish female rally driver hopes to win desert race

A Turkish female rally driving team is hoping to win a two-day rally which started Thursday in the desert kingdom of Dubai and will finish on Saturday. The Turkish female crew is one of 23 teams taking part in the 35th International Dubai Rally, an arduous desert drive of over one thousand kilometres. The drivers are competing in three different stages held 70 kilometres outside Dubai's city center. Burcu Cetinkaya, 32, and her co-pilot Ozlem Akguc confessed that desert stages are challenging, but said they hope to return home with the medal. The male pilot of the other Turkish team, Vedat Diker, shared the same wishes with Cetinkaya, saying, "We are here to represent Turkey." The Dubai rally is the final part of the Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) - a motor rally championship first held in 1984. The championship, composed of a series of rallies across western Asia, is contested over seven events held in seven different countries across the Middle East region, running from January to December. The previous MERC races in 2013 were hosted by Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon and Greek Cypriot side.