Kerem Kazaz, is a professional Turkish rally driver born in Istanbul on 9 December 2005. He holds the distinction of being the youngest driver to win the overall championship in the history of the Türkiye Rally Championship. Throughout his career he has competed in both national and international motorsport events as a driver for Red Bull and Team Petrol Ofisi.

Early Life and Family

Kazaz was born in the Eminönü district of Istanbul. He is the son of Ercan Kazaz, a four-time Türkiye champion and one-time Balkan rally champion. His interest in motorsports began at the age of four with motocross. His family, especially his mother, has supported him since the start of his racing career. He completed his high school education at Lycee Pierre Loti d'Istanbul and has stated that due to his racing schedule he sometimes had to continue lessons during flights. He also mentioned using a Fiat Egea as his primary means of daily transportation.

Career Start and Education

In 2020 Kazaz transitioned to four-wheeled vehicles and completed karting training. That same year he competed in the Türkiye Circuit Championship and became its youngest driver. He officially entered rally racing in the 2022 season, competing in championships in Spain Latvia and Estonia. He gained early international experience through the DriveToTheFuture project.

To enhance his technical skills he took ice driving lessons in 2022 from John Hougland in Norway and Kristian Sohlberg in Finland. In 2023 he received navigation training from Estonian champion Egon Kaur and in 2024 from Hyundai WRC driver Teemu Suninen strengthening both his theoretical and practical foundation. In preparation for races he undertook strength training worked on simulators and analyzed in-car camera footage.

National Achievements and Championships

Shortly after turning 18 Kazaz obtained his driver’s license and in February 2024 won the Sarıkamış Rally alongside Lithuanian co-driver Andris Malnieks securing first place in the overall classification. With this result he became the youngest driver ever to win a rally event in Türkiye. He went on to win the 44th Orhan Yüce Istanbul Rally the final round of the 2024 Türkiye Rally Championship with French co-driver Corentin Silvestre completing the season as champion in the overall classification as well as in the Young Drivers and Class 2 categories.

With this performance he became the youngest rally champion in history by finishing the 2024 season at the top of the standings representing Parkur Racing. In the 2025 season he retained the Türkiye Rally Championship title becoming the first driver to win it consecutively. He began the 2026 season with the Ege Rally held in Marmaris and has stated his goal is to secure third place in the overall classification of the event.

International Career and WRC Goals

Kerem Kazaz (AA)

Selected for the Türkiye National Team in 2022 and 2024 Kazaz has represented Türkiye in the FIA Motorsport Games an event known as the Olympics of motorsport. In 2022 he finished 10th overall in the Crosscar Senior class as the youngest participant in the category.

He finished third in the Fiesta Rally3 Trophy category of the European Rally Championship and became the youngest Turkish driver ever to reach the podium in the ERC3 class.

Following his international results he became the first Turkish driver to be accepted into Hyundai Global’s Customer Racing Junior Drive program. Competing under Hyundai Motorsport Kazaz participated in various rallies across countries such as Spain in the 2024 and 2025 seasons driving a Hyundai i20 N Rally2.

He completed the 2025 season in fourth place overall in the Junior World Rally Championship and WRC3 categories. He also signed a three-year main sponsorship agreement with Petrol Ofisi and competes in JWRC events under the team name Team Petrol Ofisi. In this context he made his debut in the World Rally Championship for Young Drivers in February 2025 at the Rally Sweden. It has been stated that one of the primary goals of Kerem Kazaz’s career is to compete in the 2027 World Rally Championship and become the first Turkish driver to reach the podium in the event.

Awards

Before turning 20 Kerem Kazaz was honored with the Special Courage Award at the GQ Men of the Year 2024 ceremony following his two consecutive Türkiye championship titles and international successes. He received the 2024 championship trophy at a gala evening organized by the Türkiye Automobile Sports Federation (TOSFED).