Kenan Sofuoglu is the manager and trainer of his young compatriots who are currently breaking through in motorcycle track competition. There are four of them revealed and they are identified as being equally talented and aggressive. One last point which has been closely watched since the latest tragedies, and when in Austin another was miraculously avoided, the officials took action. Deniz Öncü was blamed for the chaos and was suspended for the next two Grands Prix. A leaden weight fell at the same time as the punishment imposing silence. But you can’t silence the multiple Supersport world champion like that…
Kenan Sofuoglu was not himself nicknamed “Kenan the Terrible” for nothing during his career and his cadets seem to have inherited his skills as much as his style. But this season is special, marked by drama, and situations that were generally classified as racing events are now being looked at closely. Since then, Kenan's flock has been in turmoil. Toprak Razgatlioglu is criticized for his aggressiveness by Sale in WSBK, Can Öncü is not more loved in WSS. Deniz Oncu is therefore now deprived of the Misano and Portimao Grands Prix. Last but not least, Bahattin Sofuoglu crossed the line in third position during the Supersport 300 World Championships final at Portimao, but later received a 3-second penalty for "irresponsible driving", which caused him to fall back from the podium in 17th place.
A bad series. But is it justified? The subject would not be so serious that we could talk about those involved like the Turkish heads of the moment. But in fact, it was Kenan’s idea who went to the front alone to defend his compatriots: “ for me the decision against Deniz is not fair ", attack Sofuoglu in the columns of speedweek. " Just watch the videos, I see maneuvers much more dangerous than those of Deniz. For me the main reason runners complain is because my boys are strong. Because you can't beat them. So they look for reasons to complain. We all deeply regret the loss of Dean Vinales, we are all very sorry. But now Dorna has made an example of Deniz and Bahattin. To show that anyone who drives aggressively can be punished in this way. But it's not fair to my pilots ».
Kenan Sofuoglu: “ today, pilots complain too much«
Kenan Sofuoglu also responds to Michelle Fabrizio who also became involved in the subject of security after the tragedies. He has not only made friends elsewhere and he has one less since he commented about the Turkish pilots: “ just watch how they train on YouTube ". The coach responds firmly: “ my pilots have very intensive training, we fight at every turn “, he explains. “ We try to attack without touching the other. Attacking is not easy, we are not playing a game. My pilots are not playing a game. We also see in Formula 1, the pinnacle of motorsport, that people like Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen drive very aggressively. To succeed, you have to be aggressive, that's part of this sport. Today, pilots complain too much."
He specifies : " you have to watch the whole race, every driver. Deniz didn't deserve this. That this fall happened was very unfortunate. But this is how races take place today in Moto3 and the Supersport 300 category.. Everyone tries to follow the man in front in order to use his wake. One thing is certain for my pilots: we train more than others, we work harder than the others and we train in racing conditions every lap. We drive aggressively. But it is very important for me that this happens without touching ". He ends his demonstration thus: “ if you just chase your opponents, you will never win a race. A winner must find a way to surpass the opponent ».
