SSP | Pata Italian Round: the paddock celebrates Kenan Sofuoglu

At the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola the Supersport race was won by Jules Cluzel but the absolute protagonist of the day was Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) who contested his last weekend in world championship competitions on this track: now a new phase in his career as a coach and mentor.

After missing three of the four opening rounds of the 2018 season and narrowly missing out on the WorldSSP title in 2017, the five-time Supersport World Champion made the decision to retire this season after two injury-plagued years .

Sofuoglu is the most successful Supersport rider: he made his debut in 2003, but it was in the Superstock 1000 European Championship that he surprised everyone by finishing third in the standings and taking five podiums with Yamaha.
He continued this streak into 2005, taking six podiums and missing out on the title by just six points, after a season-long battle with Didier van Keymeulen.

2006 saw Kenan move to WorldSSP with Ten Kate Honda, where he immediately found himself at ease, taking two victories in his first season as a starter and the following year he finished on the podium 12 times in 13 races, winning the title at Brands Hatch with three rounds to spare.

Having traditionally moved up to the WorldSBK class the following season, 2008 was a year of transition for the reigning champion with a ninth position as his best result: Sofuoglu then decided to return to WorldSSP, where he concluded 2009 in third position, 54 points from champion Cal Crutchlow.
The following year Sofuoglu returned to the top of the rankings thanks to the extraordinary record of having finished every race on the podium.
In 2011 he also made his debut in Moto2 on the Suter, taking home a second position in the rain at the TT Circuit Assen, before returning to Supersport and continuing to break records: the following year he switched to Kawasaki, with which he managed to win the title for the third time, with nine podiums and four victories.

The Turkish driver finished second in 2013 behind Britain's Sam Lowes, missing the title by 49 points, but 2014 was his most difficult season, where he didn't get higher than eighth place in the standings.

Sofuoglu returned in style the following year with the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing team, taking the title 74 points ahead of Jules Cluzel and only missing the podium on three occasions.

2016 saw Sofuoglu win his fifth and final title, at the penultimate round of the season at the Circuito de Jerez, after a tough battle with his teammate Randy Krummenacher: his tally at the end of the season was seven poles, nine podiums and six victories in 12 rounds.

The last two years of his career were, however, as we said, very difficult: at the beginning of 2017 he did not participate in the first two rounds due to injury, but upon his return he immediately crashed and did not even participate in the third.
Once back in shape, he won four consecutive races, only to then break his pelvis in Magny-Cours: with 12 weeks of recovery expected, Sofuoglu returned to the track after just five, to fight for the title in Qatar, which then narrowly went to Mahias.

Sofuoglu retires with 43 victories, 85 podiums and five world titles: today in Imola all the public and professionals, including his WorldSuperbike colleagues, celebrated his extraordinary career, celebrating a phenomenon of this sport.
#ThankYouKenan.