#kenansofuoglu

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Kenan Sofuoglu retires from racing after Imola swansong

Turkish racing legend Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) has taken to the grid for his last ever race this weekend at Autodromo Internazionale Enzo d Dino Ferrari di Imola, as the five time FIM Supersport World Champion looks ahead to a new chapter of his career in rider coaching and mentoring.

Sitting out of three of the four opening rounds of the 2018 championship, and narrowly missing out on retaining the WorldSSP title in 2017, the 33 year old has made the decision not to continue this season and beyond. With injuries sustained in Magny-Cours last year still causing him pain and discomfort, the most successful WorldSSP rider has decided to hang up his leathers and focus on his long term health.

Sofuoglu first burst onto the WorldSBK scene in 2003, making his debut in WorldSSP, but underwent three difficult races. Firmly planting his name in the series in 2004, the Turkish rider made an impact in the European Superstock 1000 Championship and finished in third overall, taking five podiums along the way with Yamaha. Taking on the competitive series once again in 2005 Sofuoglu narrowly missed out on the title by six points, after a season long battle with Didier van Keymeulen, which saw him secure six podium finishes.

2006 welcomed a move up into the WorldSSP class for Kenan with Ten Kate Honda, and the young talent found his feet very quickly in the 600cc category. Grasping two victories in his first full season – his first at TT Circuit Assen – the truly began in 2007 as he took 12 podiums from 13 races, clinching the title at Brands Hatch with three rounds remaining. Ending the season 143 points ahead of his closest rival Broc Parkes, Sofuoglu was already breaking records as he claimed the honor of the most wins secured over a season.

Making the traditional progression into the WorldSBK class the following season, 2008 was a testing season for the reigning champion in both her personal and racing life. Facing a big learning curve with his Junior Honda squad, he was able to take home points in 13 races that season. With a best result of ninth to his name, Sofuoglu took a step back to the more familiar territory of WorldSSP for 2009, and his dominance truly blossomed.

Finding his feet in 2009 and facing new rivals, the number 54 rider ended the season in the top three, an appropriate 54 points off the champion Cal Crutchlow. Taking the confidence of his six podiums and three victories into a new decade, 2010 welcomed Sofuoglu back to the top of the standings. Finishing on the podium at every race of the season, the Honda rider faced a season-long battle with Eugene Laverty and Joan Lascorz before clinching the title by 11 points in France.

Becoming an unstoppable force in WorldSSP, 2011 saw him make the step over to the MotoGP™ class, where he tried his hand at the 600cc Moto2™ series. Bringing home one second position around a wet TT Circuit Assen on his Suter, Sofuoglu made the move back into WorldSSP to continue to break records. Nevertheless a season of absence didn’t slow him down, and whilst making the switch to Kawasaki for 2012 he was able to win the title for a third time – with nine podiums and four victories. Beginning an intense rivalry with Fabien Foret, this kicked off in the opening race at Phillip Island which saw Sofuoglu take the victory by 0.078s over the line.

Facing some strong battles out on track, the Turkish rider was runner up in 2013 to Brit Sam Lowes and he missed out on the crown by 49 points overall, despite taking five victories and nine podiums, in what was his 10th year of racing on the world stage. 2014 was a tough season for the three time champion, as he could only muster a top eight finish in the standings with Dutch youngster Michael van der Mark taking the title.

Despite a disappointing year, the Kawasaki rider was able to bounce back in true champion style the following season as he joined Kawasaki Puccetti Racing. Going through a difficult period in his home life, the record breaker was crowned 2015 WorldSSP champion by a sensational 74 points ahead of Jules Cluzel. Only missing out on a podium finish on three occasions, it was clear he had not lost his WorldSSP winning style.

2016 saw Sofuoglu secure his fifth and final title, which he sealed in the penultimate round of the season at Circuito de Jerez. Facing a strong battle from his team-mate Randy Krummenacher, the Turkish rider shone through overall. Showing the utter dominance fans became used to with seven poles, nine podiums and six wins throughout the 12 rounds of the season, securing his status as a WorldSSP legend.

The 33 year old was able to portray his steely grit and determination right until the end of his career. Sitting out of the opening two rounds of the 2017 season, he returned at MotorLand Aragon but was involved in a crash which saw him unable to score points in the opening three races. However Sofuoglu went on to win the next four races in a row, and only finished off the podium when he was involved in a crash.

But the crash which ultimately became pivotal to his career at Magny-Cours was the most spectacular. Breaking his pelvis in three places, he was given a 12 week recovery period, but returned to his bike and to the podium five weeks after the crash. Stamping his status on the field, the legend of Sofuoglu will live on forever.

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Kenan Sofuoglu Will Ride The Last Race of his Career in Imola

Kenan Sofuoglu will race the fifth round of the FIM Supersport World Championship this weekend at “Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari” in Imola for the last time in his career.

The Turkish rider has officially declared his intention to retire after the Italian round this weekend, which will coincide with his 20th year racing anniversary.

On many occasions this year the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing’s rider has declared that there was a possibility for him to retire after the terrible crash he suffered in Australia that left him with additional issues apart from the those he sustained in the accident at Magny Cours last year.

For Sofuoglu 2017 was marked by many injuries. After injuring his right hand during training just before the start of the season, Kenan missed the first two rounds. His come back in Aragon saw him being forced out of the race while he was fighting for the victory finishing again with no points. In the following encounters, the five-time world champion achieved 5 victories and a second place reopening the battle for the championship title.

But after a dramatic crash in France, which left him with a hip bone injury, the chance of winning the sixth WorldSSP title of his career seemed to have vanished. The tough Turkish rider didn’t give up and decided to attempt to race in the final 2017 round in Qatar – less than a month after a crash that would normally require a 12-week recovery time. Sofuoglu performed at his very best to finish in third place, which unfortunately wasn’t sufficient to secure the championship title.

Because of these continuous injuries the Turkish rider decided together with his family to end his career sooner as was expected. After having won the Supersport world championship title five times in 2007, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016 (the two last ones with the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing team) and having become one of the most successful riders ever with 45 victories overall (43 of that in WorldSSP) Sofuoglu made the difficult decision with no regrets.

Kenan has been a great fighter both in life and on track. He is a modest rider but with a great experience, talent and professionalism. He will now focus on his riding school where he has been training many Turkish young riders who are already showing their talent on the international stage. Among them there is Toprak Razgatlioglu, WorldSBK’s rookie rider on board the Kawasaki ZX-10RR machine with the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing team this year.

After Imola, Sofuoglu will keep working with the team supporting and helping his rider to grow in the main category of the championship. From 11th to 13th May Kenan Sofuoglu will be out on track for the last time in his career at the team home round in Imola.

The Kawasaki Puccetti Racing team and its staff would like to thank Kenan for his precious collaboration in the last few years and wish him all the best in his life and lot of success for the future.

Manuel Puccetti, Team Principal: “We are really sorry to lose such a talent like Kenan in the team, but we understand and respect his decision. For us it has been an opportunity working with one of the most professional and strongest riders in the Supersport category. It has been an honour having him in the team. We would like to thank him because we really grow a lot thanks to him and his collaboration. With Kawasaki we made a fantastic group and for sure we will keep working together in the future. Kenan is the manager of our current rider in WorldSBK and in the future we will probably have other talents from his school and we will keep working together with Kawasaki and the Turkish Motorcycle Federation. There are many different best moments of our seasons together, but I will never forget the feeling when we won our first title in Magny Cours. I think that it is really difficult to forget”.