First international rally in Turkey was held in 1972, starting and finishing in
Istanbul. In 1999, the idea of creating an all-new event as a WRC candidate was conceived. The next year in 2000, the Anatolian Rally based in
İzmir was born. After being observed by the FIA, the rally became an official reserve event for the WRC. Antalya and Kemer, a holiday region in southwestern Turkey was chosen in 2001 as the start and finish venue for the Anatolian Rally adopting a WRC format. In 2002, first foreign entries took part,
Sébastien Loeb in a
Citroën Saxo and
Juuso Pykälistö in a
Peugeot 206 WRC. Turkey debuted in the World Rally Championship in the
2003 season in which only 27 of the 62 entries finished. The first two years were dedicated to
Junior World Rally Championship (JWRC) for gaining experience. In
2005, the Rally of Turkey hosted for the first time
Production Car World Rally Championship (PWRC) drivers. 76 rally teams took part in the 2005 Rally of Turkey. Only 53 teams finished the total distance of 1,228 km. Repeating his victory of previous year, Sébastien Loeb of
France won the cup at 4.21.48.00' with his
co-driver Daniel Elena. The 2006 event was held from October 13 to October 15, 2006 around
Kemer – Kumluca –
Antalya in southwestern
Turkey on rough, gravel roads up into occasionally snowy mountain roads. Rally headquarters and the service park were located in Kemer. The Rally of Turkey returned to the WRC calendar in for the
2008 season. The
2008 Rally of Turkey took place between June 12–15 and was won by
Mikko Hirvonen ahead of
Jari-Matti Latvala and
Sébastien Loeb. The rally was removed from the calendar after the
2010 event. The Rally of Turkey was revived for the
2018 championship as a replacement for
Rally Poland. The event was based in the town of
Marmaris in
Muğla Province. == Winners ==