Kenan Sofuoglu’s comeback to racing seems to be more and more unlikely to happen.According to the sources of Speedweek.com, the Turkish rider is expected to announce his retirement during the next World Supersport Round, scheduled at Imola from 11th till 13th May.
The injuries sustained by Kenan Sofuoglu have got into trouble not just the five ties World Supersport Champion, but also the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Team. The team owned by Manuel Puccetti currently has no top rider and this makes the Italian team struggle, while Yamaha riders fight for the win at every race. Moreover, without Sofuoglu, the best result achieved so far by a Kawasaki rider in 2018 season is the fifth place scored at Buriram by the local wild card Thitipong Warokorn.
“We’re in this situation because of Kenan” said Manuel Puccetti to Speedweek. “He wanted to focus just on the fight for the title, with no stress, and so he asked me not to sign another fast rider. I would have liked to have two strong riders, also because they could push each other, but he didn’t want to fight with his team-mate and so I couldn’t. Finally I chose Hikari Okubo, a young rider to raise, and now, without Kenan, we’re in trouble. In the future I want to have two top riders again.”
Manuel Puccetti’s wishlist includes also two stars of World Supersport: “Jules Cluzel has proved to be the only rider able to beat Kenan and I think he’s a great rider, but I also really like Lucas Mahias. They’re on top of the list.“