Kenan Sofuoglu must defend the driving style of his drivers and compatriots in a sensitive general context marked by the issue of safety on the track. Three deaths of drivers who had not even reached the age of majority raised the question of the boundary between the unbearably aggressive attitude in racing and the virile but correct technique of overtaking the opponent. At a time when Deniz Öncü was sanctioned after a pileup in Austin in Moto3, and while the WSBK grand final is about to begin in Argentina, the former multiple Supersport World Champion sets things straight And in particular with Jonathan Rea of the part from which he visibly expects a low blow...
Le WSBK established his camp in Argentina in a region of San Juan which this weekend hosts the penultimate round of a season placed under high tension. It has been a long time since we have experienced such indecision in the category in the title race with two drivers in a head-on duel under the eager gaze of a third ready to pull the chestnuts out of the fire.
Scott Redding is the third thief in a game which is nevertheless played above all between those over thirty Jonathan Rhea to six titles with the Kawasaki and one Toprak Razgatlioglu under 25 years old who represents the next generation. This confrontation is therefore also symbolic, which exacerbates the issue. We feel it as we approach the final decision: we will use all the tricks to beat the opponent. On the track but also off it.
And that's where Kenan Sofuoglu arrives, to relieve his champion of any psychological pressure and other influences that could destabilize him. The Turk sees the blow coming and he will be focused on the theme of aggressiveness on the track at a time when it raises questions in the entry categories in international competition. The latest and tragic events in Moto3 and SuperSport300 have changed what were, until recently, racing facts, into bases for complaints to obtain sanctions.
With 24 points of delay, Sale has his back to the wall. Sofuoglu is a former multiple World Champion and so he knows the drill. So he takes the lead, after hearing the first criticisms from the Kawasaki pilot on the virility of the attacks carried out by Razgatlioglu : " tFirst of all, you should always see who is complaining ", declared on speedweek the one we nicknamed “Kenan the Terrible” when he was a pilot. That is to say…
Sofuoglu: “ Rea should accept the fact that Toprak beats him«
He continues his demonstration thus: “ as a rule, these are the adversaries. I have excellent drivers who are among the best in their class. My best example is Toprak. Johnny and Scott complain about him a lot because they can't beat him anymore. That's not nice of them. Johnny should say that Toprak is the new generation. He should accept the fact that Toprak beats him ».
« Instead, he says Toprak is flying dangerously », regrets the five-time world champion who then puts forward objective arguments: “ but how many times has someone fallen because of Toprak? How many times has he crashed into someone else? Who did Toprak eliminate from the race? And how often is Toprak wrong? Johnny makes a lot of mistakes. Toprak couldn't finish three races this year, but it was never his fault. He drives aggressively, it's true. But that’s part of motorcycle sport. He takes tight trajectories to overtake his opponents. He can take and attack those tight lines. How often did he hit an opponent in the process? ».
Kenan Sofuoglu finished : " no one has to complain about Toprak, he is very strong and a winning driver. You have to respect the winners and not complain about them. It really hurts me to hear things like that from Jonathan Rea. And that surprises me. But if he wants to play like that... ". This is promising for the future and all the more so since there is something personal in this quest for the title for Kenan: “ if all goes well, a Turkish athlete will win the Superbike World Championship for the first time. I invested everything for this. My father is gone, but he would appreciate it if he was alive. I hope he sees what we did. I'm going to give him this World Cup. I hope it happens, in front of the cameras I want to say 'It's for my father' ". It will be hot in the land of tango.
