Turkey’s 1st female track racer in 30 years leaves doubters in dust
SEDA KAÇAN went down in history when she participated in the Turkish Track Championship as its first female pilot in nearly three decades. However, her road to track racing was not easy and the 29-year-old said she had to a lot of people trying to discourage her.
Kaçan recently participated in the 2022 Turkish Track Championship, organized by the Turkish Automobile Sports Federation (TOSFED) in the southwestern province of İzmir on June 18-19.
Driving for the Bitci Racing team, she finished the first day in the sixth place, before coming fifth on the second day. In doing so, Kaçan became the first female track-racing driver since Ann Tahincioğlu, who competed in the 1992 Turkish Track Championship. Kaçan said she was interested in motorsports from an early age. She has continued to follow her lifelong passion for driving while also having a career in marketing. Describing her difficult journey in motor racing, Kaçan said she had no one in her family or around her interested in the sport. “My first driving experience was virtual when I played a racing game on our home computer. I realized, there was a burning desire inside me for motorsports. As I got older, I would often steal the family car and that’s how my talent behind the wheel was discovered,” she said. Like many professional racers, she started with go-kart racing before proving her doubters wrong to go professional as a track championship driver.
CHASING A LIFELONG DREAM
Originally from western Turkey’s Kırklareli, Kaçan’s professional career, however, only started after she moved to the country’s largest city, Istanbul for university. “I almost gave up my dream of becoming a racecar driver because of negative opinions from people and since there was no such opportunity in Kırklareli. However, after my admission at Yıldız Technical University, I met people from the racing community,” she said.
Even some of them discouraged Kaçan by saying it was a very costly sport to get into and was not right for her. “After I started building a career in marketing, I realized that I gave up on my passion very quickly. So, I researched and attended various training. That’s when I met my current team director, İbrahim Okyay. He told me to start with karting,” said Kaçan. At the age of 26, Kaçan started taking go-kart lessons but once again, she was met with opposition. “I ignored everyone who said ‘Don’t do it. It’s a man’s sport. How will you manage work and sports at the same time?’ and I moved forward with my plan.”
“I’m glad I took this risk. I’m having a lot of fun and progressing very well. Last year, I followed the Turkish Karting Championship all season. I even took the podium several times. Before long, I realized that if you follow your passing you can achieve very good results,” Kaçan said.
Coming from a family with a modest income, it was difficult for Kaçan at the beginning. “My mother is a teacher, my father is in the military. My sponsors enable me to do this job. I also had a sponsor in the Turkish Karting Championship. Bitci Racing and my company has supported me a lot this year. Thanks to their support, I can do this sport.” “It may be an expensive sport, but instead of giving up, I saw that there were sponsors ready to support young people with talent,” she added.
LOOKING FORWARD
Kaçan said everyone at the track welcomed her with open arms and she has made a good start to the season. “The first leg in İzmir was like a training session for me. This was my first professional race. More than anything, I was happy to see all the athletes and staff welcome me by saying they were proud to see a female pilot on the track,” she said. “I want to prove that women can also participate in motorsports and they should be supported, maybe even more than men.”
The 29-year-old is now aiming to become Turkey’s first female track racing driver in the international arena.