| Salih Yoluç | |
| Nationality: |  Turkish |
| Birth Date: | 22 August 1985[1] |
| Birth Place: | Istanbul, (Turkey) |
| Racing Licence: | FIA Silver |
| Current Series: | European Le Mans Series |
| First Year: | 2015 |
| Current Team: | Racing Team Turkey |
| Car Number: | 34 |
| Starts: | 19 |
| Wins: | 7 |
| Poles: | 4 |
| Podiums: | 14 |
| Fastest Laps: | 1 |
| Best Finish: | 1st |
| Year: | 2022 |
| Prev Series: | 24 Hours of Le Mans 24 Hours of Spa FIA GT Nations Cup Dubai 24 Hours |
| Prev Series Years: | 2020 2019 2018 2015 |
| Titles: | Asian Le Mans Series European Le Mans Series Blancpain Endurance Cup |
| Title Years: | 2023 2022 2019 |
Ahmet Salih Yoluç[2] (born 22 August 1985, Istanbul) is a Turkish racing driver.[3] As a bronze-ranked competitor, Yoluç has taken notable accolades in sportscar racing, including the 2020 LMGTE Am class victory at Le Mans, the Pro-Am title in the 2019 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup, as well as the 2022 European Le Mans Series and 2023 Asian Le Mans Series championships in the LMP2 category.[4] [5] [6]
Yoluç started his racing career in 2015 with Optimum Motorsport in the British GT Championship. Despite two driving standards-related disqualifications in that championship, the Turkish driver was able to taste success in his maiden season, winning the Dubai 24 Hour race.[7]
At the end of 2015, he made a move to what would become his long-term team, TF Sport, and competed in the GT3 Le Mans Cup. There, Yoluç and Euan Hankey finished second in the drivers' standings with two victories, though they would win the teams' title.[8] He and Hankey also drove in International GT Open during the same year, winning two races on their way to sixth place overall.[9]
For the 2017 season, Yoluç moved into the LMGTE class of the European Le Mans Series alongside Hankey and Aston Martin factory driver Nicki Thiim.[10] [11] The trio fought for the title throughout the year, winning the season opener at Silverstone and taking podiums in five races, though they missed out to JMW Motorsport by merely two points. That year, Yoluç also raced in the Pro-Am class of the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup.[12] Competing in the final three races, Yoluç would help teammates Jonathan Adam and Ahmad Al Harthy to two podium finishes, including second in class at the 24 Hours of Spa, which earned them the Pro-Am title. In addition, Yoluç became the first ever Turkish driver to compete in 24 Hours of Le Mans.[13] He finished seventh in class.
Yoluç switched to the FIA World Endurance Championship for its "Super Season", partnering Charlie Eastwood on a full-time basis.[14] Despite a late retirement at Le Mans, the team performed well, scoring four podiums to end the season in third. In 2019, Yoluç and Eastwood also raced in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup, winning the Pro-Am Cup title after triumphing during the 24 Hours of Spa.[15]
During the second half of 2019, the Turkish-Irish pair would join Jonathan Adam in the WEC with TF Sport. During the season held over two years, the trio won the LMGTE Am category at the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans and took the runner-up spot in the championship with three further wins.[16] [17]
Yoluç switched to prototypes in 2021, racing an Oreca 07 in the LMP2 class of the ELMS with the TF Sport-offshoot Racing Team Turkey.[18] [19] Alongside Eastwood and Harry Tincknell, the Turkish driver was able to celebrate a lone victory at Le Castellet, though they would end up fourth in the LMP2 Pro-Am standings after a crash in practice prevented them from taking part in the final round.[20] [21] Yoluç and Eastwood returned with RTT for the 2022 season, this time teaming up with Jack Aitken.[22] The outfit was dominant in the Pro-Am class, winning four races on their way to the title.[23] [24]
Ahead of the main 2023 campaign, Yoluç and Eastwood, who would be going into their sixth year as teammates, drove alongside Ayhancan Güven in the Asian Le Mans Series with DKR Engineering.[25] With a win in Abu Dhabi and three further podiums, the trio took the LMP2 title.[26] [27] [28] For their European season in the ELMS, Yoluç and Eastwood were joined by Louis Delétraz, who immediately helped them towards the overall race victory at Barcelona.[29] [30] Another class win in France followed, but issues at Aragón and a spin in the first Algarve event from Yoluç demoted the lineup to third in class.[31] [32] [33] [34] At Le Mans, Yoluç retired during the evening, having hit the Prema of Filip Ugran.[35]
During the winter, Yoluç and Eastwood took part in AsLMS alongside Michael Dinan, where the Turkish driver scored two pole positions but only ended up seventh in the teams' standings, before he was upgraded to an FIA silver-ranked competitor ahead of the 2024 season.[36] [37] As that meant that he could no longer compete in the ELMS's Pro-Am class, Yoluç moved into the Gold Cup category of the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup with Eastwood, as well as partaking in several events of the GTD category of the IMSA SportsCar Championship with Lone Star Racing.[38] [39]
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 |  TF Sport | Euan Hankey Rob Bell | Aston Martin Vantage GTE | GTE Am | 329 | 35th | 7th |
| 2018 | TF Sport | Euan Hankey Charlie Eastwood | Aston Martin Vantage GTE | GTE Am | 304 | DNF | DNF |
| 2019 | TF Sport | Euan Hankey Charlie Eastwood | Aston Martin Vantage GTE | GTE Am | 327 | 42nd | 11th |
| 2020 | TF Sport | Jonathan Adam Charlie Eastwood | Aston Martin Vantage AMR | GTE Am | 339 | 24th | 1st |
| 2023 | Racing Team Turkey | Tom Gamble Dries Vanthoor | Oreca 07-Gibson | LMP2 | 87 | DNF | DNF |
| LMP2 Pro-Am | |||||||
| 2024 | JMW Motorsport |  Giacomo Petrobelli Larry ten Voorde | Ferrari 296 GT3 | LMGT3 | 112 | DNF | DNF |
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Rank | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018–19 | TF Sport | LMGTE Am | Aston Martin Vantage GTE | Aston Martin 4.5 L V8 | SPA | LMS | SIL | FUJ | SHA | SEB | SPA | LMS | 3rd | 99 | |
| 2019–20 | TF Sport | LMGTE Am | Aston Martin Vantage AMR | Aston Martin 4.0 L Turbo V8 | SIL | FUJ | SHA | BHR | COA | SPA | LMS | BHR | 2nd | 154 |
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Rank | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | TF Sport | GTC | Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 | Aston Martin 4.5 L V8 | SIL | IMO | RBR | LEC | EST | 11th | 10 | ||
| 2017 | TF Sport | GTE | Aston Martin Vantage GTE | Aston Martin 4.5 L V8 | SIL | MNZ | RBR | LEC | SPA | ALG | 2nd | 102 | |
| 2021 | Racing Team Turkey | LMP2 | Oreca 07 | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | CAT | RBR | LEC | MNZ | SPA | ALG | 11th | 29.5 | |
| 2022 | Racing Team Turkey | LMP2 | Oreca 07 | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | LEC | IMO | MNZ | CAT | SPA | ALG | 8th | 38 | |
| Pro-Am Cup | 1st | 131 | |||||||||||
| 2023 | Racing Team Turkey | LMP2 Pro-Am | Oreca 07 | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | CAT | LEC | ARA | SPA | PRT | ALG | 3rd | 94 |
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Rank | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-2019 | United Autosports | LMP2 | Ligier JS P2 | Nissan VK45 4.5 L V8 | SHA | FUJ | CHA | SEP | 8th | 33 | ||
| 2023 | DKR Engineering | LMP2 | Oreca 07 | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | DUB 1 | DUB 2 | ABU 1 | ABU 2 | 1st | 76 | ||
| 2023–24 | TF Sport | LMP2 | Oreca 07 | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | SEP 1 | SEP 2 | DUB | ABU 1 | ABU 2 | 8th | 42 |
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate the fastest lap of top ten finishers)