Kenan Sofuoglu misses the Jerez tests

Bad news for the Kawasaki Pucetti Racing team on the eve of the first 2017 Winter Tests in Jerez de la Frontera: Kenan Sofuoglu will in fact be forced to miss the days of testing due to a fracture in his right wrist, suffered following a fall last Sunday morning during Supermotard training at a circuit in Turkey.

The reigning Supersport Champion will have to wait for the inflammation to subside before undergoing further tests which will determine the need for surgery and recovery times.

Sofuoglu will still be on the Andalusian track, alongside teammate Kyle Ryde, even if he won't be able to take to the track even in Portimao, in the two-day test scheduled for next week.

Team owner Manuel Puccetti said: “On Sunday morning Kenan was training with Toprak (Razgatlioglu) at a private Supermoto circuit in Turkey. It was very cold and after a couple of laps he lost the front and crashed. Kenan took a hard hit on the asphalt and broke a bone in his right hand, near the scaphoid. He will x-ray the hand and within two days we will know whether the operation will be necessary or not. Whatever happens, left for Australia with the hope of racing; for now it is too early to say what he will be able to do. If Kenan doesn't race we will definitely be looking for a rider who will get on his bike - and for this I have to talk to Kawasaki Europe to understand who could be in his place. At the moment, however, it is still early and obviously we hope that Kenan himself will be able to race."