Kenan Sofuoğlu
Kenan Sofuoğlu is a Turkish former professional motorcycle racer, who won the highest number of Supersport World Championship titles – five, in 2007, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016.
He became an elected politician in June 2018, soon after he announced his retirement from racing in May 2018. He made a brief comeback appearance at the Imola, Italy, World Championship event on 13 May where he qualified in third place but entered the pit lane immediately after the sighting lap, choosing to withdraw from the race.
He suffered injuries in a crash at Phillip Island, Australia, earlier in 2018, exacerbating his previous pelvis fracture from a crash during practice at Magny-Cours, France, on 30 September 2017, which initially appeared to have ended participation in the 2017 season. After a period of only five weeks, he returned to participate in the last meeting at Qatar, finishing the race in third place and totalling enough points to finish second in the championship.
Sofuoğlu also competed in Moto2 for the Technomag-CIP team, having made his debut at the end of and remained with the team for the season. He previously won the Supersport World Championship with Ten Kate Honda in and. He raced in the World Superbike Championship for Ten Kate in 2008, but with limited success.
Racing for Kawasaki in 2012, Sofuoğlu claimed his third Supersport World Championship at the Portuguese Grand Prix, in the penultimate race.
As a five-time champion, Sofuoglu is the most successful rider to have competed in the Supersport World Championship and holds many records in the class.
Career
Supersport & Superbike World Championship
After winning Class B of the Turkish Supersport Championship in 2000 and the German Yamaha R6 Cup in 2002, Sofuoğlu moved into the European Superstock Championship, finishing second and third in two seasons. Subsequently, Sofuoğlu entered the Supersport World Championship full-time in 2006 after three races in 2003. Sofuoğlu dominated the 2007 season, winning five of the first eight races, and broke the record for the most wins in one season. These included a two-lap charge from sixth to first at Monza, and a win on his first ever visit to Donington Park, in the wet. He also won at Losail, Spain and Assen, Netherlands. He clinched the championship with three races to go, by finishing second at Brands Hatch, becoming Turkey's first major motorsport world champion.Sofuoğlu then signed with Ten Kate Honda for three more years. For 2008 he rode a 3rd Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR in World Superbikes, as part of a junior team. He was not successful, and returned to Supersport with the team for 2009. This time the team struggled to match Cal Crutchlow's Yamaha and the Parkalgar Honda of Eugene Laverty, leaving Sofuoğlu to fight for third in the standings. He opened 2010 with a succession of podium finishes, leaving him in a 3-way championship battle with Laverty and Motocard Kawasaki's Joan Lascorz. He eventually claimed the title, finishing on the podium in every race.
For 2013, as the world champion, Sofuoğlu had the option of riding for the Italian Pedercini Team but he opted to join the Indian Mahi Team owned by Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Moto2 World Championship
Towards the end of the 2010 season Sofuoğlu appeared in Moto2 at the Portuguese Grand Prix, with the Technomag-CIP team, replacing Shoya Tomizawa, who had died in an incident at Misano. Sofuoğlu was fourth fastest in practice, which put him on the front row after qualifying was rained out. The race marked his first ever dry laps on the bike, but he led for the majority of the race before finishing the race in fifth despite having to try to adjust the handlebars of the bike while racing. Sofuoğlu remained with the team in 2011, riding one of the team's Suters. His best finish was 2nd place at Assen.Injuries
During training for the 2017 Supersport World Championship in early February, Sofuoğlu broke a finger bone. He had to undergo two operations. Just before the first round of the championship in Australia, he performed a two-day test, but was not ready to race because of pain when braking, and decided not to start. He flew back home to undergo another operation, and stated that he would miss the opening two rounds, but would be present again in Spain, the third round of the championship.On September 30, Sofuoğlu broke his pelvis in three places after a crash during the Superpole session of a championship race in France. The same day, he was flown to Istanbul, Turkey for medical care by air ambulance. His doctor stated that Sofuğlu can be discharged from the hospital in 5–6 weeks if everything goes right. Sofuoğlu confirmed the recovery period as 12 weeks.
After a period of only five weeks he returned to participate in the last meeting at Qatar, finishing the race in third place and totalling points for second place the championship.
Sofuoglu announced his retirement from racing on the build-up to the fifth round of the 2018 season at Imola after sustaining another injury at Phillip Island. This is in addition to a crash at Magny-Cours in the previous year, when he suffered a hip injury.
Career statistics
Supersport World Championship
Races by year
| Year | Bike | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Pos | Pts |
| 2003 | Yamaha | SPA 16 | AUS | JPN | ITA | GER Ret | GBR | SMR | GBR | NED | ITA | FRA Ret | NC | 0 | |||
| 2006 | Honda | QAT 3 | AUS Ret | SPA Ret | ITA 5 | EUR 20 | SMR 8 | CZE 3 | GBR 3 | NED 1 | GER 1 | ITA 2 | FRA 2 | 3rd | 157 | ||
| 2007 | Honda | QAT 1 | AUS 2 | EUR 1 | SPA 1 | NED 1 | ITA 1 | GBR Ret | SMR 3 | CZE 1 | GBR 2 | GER 2 | ITA 1 | FRA 1 | 1st | 276 | |
| 2008 | Honda | QAT | AUS | SPA | NED | ITA | GER | SMR | CZE | GBR | EUR | ITA | FRA | POR 1 | 19th | 25 | |
| 2009 | Honda | AUS 1 | QAT 4 | SPA 3 | NED 5 | ITA 9 | RSA 5 | USA 1 | SMR Ret | GBR 4 | CZE 9 | GER Ret | ITA 1 | FRA 3 | POR 2 | 3rd | 189 |
| 2010 | Honda | AUS 3 | POR 1 | SPA 2 | NED 3 | ITA 2 | RSA 2 | USA 1 | SMR 3 | CZE 1 | GBR 2 | GER 2 | ITA 2 | FRA 2 | 1st | 263 | |
| 2012 | Kawasaki | AUS 1 | ITA DSQ | NED 2 | ITA 3 | EUR 2 | SMR 1 | SPA 5 | CZE 2 | GBR 5 | RUS 1 | GER 1 | POR 2 | FRA 4 | 1st | 218 | |
| Kawasaki | AUS 1 | SPA Ret | NED 2 | ITA Ret | GBR 2 | POR 3 | ITA 1 | RUS C | GBR 1 | GER Ret | TUR 1 | FRA 1 | SPA 2 | 2nd | 201 | ||
| 2014 | Kawasaki | AUS Ret | SPA 1 | NED Ret | ITA Ret | GBR 4 | MAL 3 | SMR 4 | POR 3 | SPA 13 | FRA Ret | QAT 8 | 8th | 94 | |||
| 2015 | Kawasaki | AUS 6 | THA 2 | SPA 1 | NED 1 | ITA 1 | GBR 1 | POR 2 | SMR 11 | MAL 4 | SPA 1 | FRA 2 | QAT 2 | 1st | 233 | ||
| 2016 | Kawasaki | AUS Ret | THA 2 | SPA 1 | NED 3 | ITA 1 | MAL 6 | GBR 1 | ITA 1 | GER 1 | FRA Ret | SPA 1 | QAT 2 | 1st | 216 | ||
| 2017 | Kawasaki | AUS | THA | SPA Ret | NED 1 | ITA 1 | GBR 1 | ITA 1 | GER 2 | POR 1 | FRA DNS | SPA | QAT 3 | 2nd | 161 | ||
| 2018 | Kawasaki | AUS 13 | THA | SPA | NED | ITA Ret | GBR | CZE | ITA | POR | FRA | ARG | QAT | 31st | 3 |
Superbike World Championship
By season
Races by year
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
By season
By class
Races by year
| Year | Class | Bike | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Pos | Pts |
| 2010 | Moto2 | Suter | QAT | SPA | FRA | ITA | GBR | NED | CAT | GER | CZE | IND | RSM | ARA | JPN | MAL | AUS | POR 5 | VAL Ret | 29th | 11 |
| 2011 | Moto2 | Suter | QAT 18 | SPA 16 | POR Ret | FRA 26 | CAT Ret | GBR 8 | NED 2 | ITA 10 | GER 11 | CZE 10 | IND DNS | RSM | ARA | JPN 19 | AUS 6 | MAL 12 | VAL 20 | 17th | 59 |
Politics
Sofuoğlu was elected in June 2018 as a Justice and Development Party parliamentarian for the Sakarya Province.On 4 July 2018, the Turkish parliament's opening day for the 2018–2019 season, Sofuoğlu arrived driving a Lamborghini Aventador car, which he parked in a space reserved for an opposition deputy. This drew criticism about the "luxury car" but Sofuoğlu, also the owner of two Mercedes SUVs, a Ferrari, and a Fiat 124, responded that the critics have taken aim at him because of his AKP party affiliation and the car was only an excuse. Sofuoğlu has stated he gives his elected deputy's salary to charity.
Personal life
Sofuoğlu is the third child of İrfan Basri Sofuoğlu and his wife Nurhayat. He has one sister and two brothers. His father is a motorcycle repairman with his own garage. Two of Sofuoğlu's brothers, who were also local motorcycle racers, have died in accidents. Sofuoğlu's eldest brother Bahattin, himself a domestic Turkish motorcycling champion, died in a traffic accident in 2002. His next eldest brother Sinan died during a race training incident at the İzmit Körfez Circuit in May 2008.Sofuoğlu speaks German, French and English in addition to Turkish. Sofuoğlu is a practising Muslim, who observes the daytime fasting of Ramadan. His bike number 54 stems from his home town's license plate number. He has noted that his riding style uses too much upper-body effort, causing him to tire on the bike.
On September 3, 2014, he married Julia Looman, after a two-year engagement. After the wedding ceremony in his hometown Sakarya, the couple flew to Barcelona, Spain.
On March 14, 2015, Kenan Sofuoğlu became father of a son named Hamza, who was born in the Netherlands. On May 2, 2015 the infant suffered a brain bleed during a family holiday in Alanya. He was transferred to Istanbul, and underwent surgery. Hamza died on July 25, 2015, aged four months, and was buried in the family grave at Akyazı, Sakarya..