News 24 Jan 2017

WorldSSP champion Sofuoglu's title defence takes a hit

Turkish racer could miss Phillip Island's opener next month.

Source: Supplied.

Defending Supersport World Champion Kenan Sofuoglu will be forced to sit out of the first pre-season test of 2017 at Jerez in Spain after suffering a fracture wrist last Sunday.

The five-time WorldSSP title-winner crashed whole training on supermoto in his home country of Turkey, however the extent of his injuries – or subsequent recovery period – remains uncertain.

Sofuoglu was examined by Italian doctors, who confirmed the fracture, and he is now waiting for the inflammation to go down and he will then be able to undergo further tests. These will determine whether he will need surgery.

“Kenan was training with Toprak [Razgatlioglu] at his private Supermoto circuit in Turkey on Sunday,” explained Kawasaki Pucetti team owner Manuel Puccetti. “It was very cold and after a couple of laps he lost the front-end and crashed. He came down hard on the asphalt and broke a bone in his right hand – a little bone around the scaphoid.

“He will have an X-ray on the hand and in two days we will know whether or not he will require an operation. This means he misses the Jerez and Portimao tests for sure, but whatever happens, he will definitely travel to Australia with the hope of racing – for now it’s too early so say whether he will be able to.

“If Kenan didn’t ride, we would for sure have to find a replacement to ride his bike and for that I would need to speak with Kawasaki Europe to understand who could replace him. At the moment it is still very early and of course we hope Kenan will be able to race.”

The accident, which occurred just two days before the start of pre-season testing, is an obvious setback for the Kawasaki Pucetti Racing Team. The 2016 team champions will appear at the Andalusian track on Tuesday with Briton Kyle Ryde as their only rider.

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